The Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets are trading partners for the ninth time, this time swapping veteran guards and draft picks. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Nets are sending Dennis Schröder and a second-round pick to the Warriors in exchange for D’Anthony Melton and three second-round choices.
The trade was officially completed early this afternoon. According to HoopsHype Michael Scotto, here is how the draft compensation was ultimately decided.
The Brooklyn Nets will acquire three second-round picks from the Golden State Warriors in the Dennis Schroder trade, including 2026 and 2028 second-round picks via the Atlanta Hawks and a 2029 second-round pick via the Warriors. Nets send Miami’s 2025 second-round pick.
Warriors-Nets Trade Grades: Dennis Schroeder Instantly Becomes Steph Curry’s Best-Ever Understudy? Nets Start To Prepare For Future
Schröder is an offensive genius. The 6-1 combo guard is arguably playing the best basketball of his career. He was sensational for his native German National Team the last two summers and is having his best season since his days in Oklahoma City.
Schroeder has four double-doubles and is averaging a career-best 1.3 points per shot. The 31-year-old is producing a personal-best effective field goal percentage of 54.2%, averages 18.4 points, 6.6 assists, and 2.5 threes, grabs three rebounds, and registers 1.1 steals.
Conversely, Melton’s season ended last month after he underwent ACL surgery. The 26-year-old guard appeared in six games in his lone campaign with the Warriors.
Golden State and Brooklyn entered the season with totally different goals. The Warriors planned on competing in the tough Western Conference, while the Nets intended on going into full rebuilding mode following their disastrous Kyrie Irving –Kevin Durant—Ben Simmons—James Harden experiment.
Golden State is fifth place in the West at 14-10, though the Warriors have lost seven of their last ten. While the Warriors have a +4.7 point differential due to a terrific defense, 12 conference teams have 13 wins. So, in other words, there is plenty of competition for the West’s top 10 teams.
Brooklyn has been much more competitive than initially thought in the early going. The Nets sit in 10th place in the East with a 10-15 record, though they have lost two straight and five of six. The Nets have the same number of wins as Detroit and a -4.6 point differential, as they have a bottom-five defense.
Trade Details
Golden State Warriors Receive
Dennis Schröder
Brooklyn’s 2025 Second Round Selection
Brooklyn Nets Receive
D’Anthony Melton
Atlanta’s Second Round selection in 2026
Atlanta’s Second-Round Pick in 2028
Golden State’s Second Round Pick in 2029
Trade Grade For Golden State Warriors
I like this deal for Golden State very much. Schröder provides the Warriors with much-needed scoring punch, and they didn’t give up much capital. More importantly, the Warriors didn’t deal with their young players—Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Moses Moody.
Therefore, here is a look at how Schröder fits in with the Warriors. Theoretically, it is just like a hand and a properly fitted glove, at least on the offensive end.
Golden State has some offensive talent, but the Warriors are just 18th in offensive rating. They are 22nd in the league in field goal percentage (45.3%) and 14th in 3-point percentage (36.6%). They are dead last in free throw percentage (70.2%) while attempting 21 free throws a contest.
Schröder is at his best with the ball in his hand. While that may seem awkward with Stephen Curry still running the show, Curry doesn’t need the ball in his hands and is probably at his best off the ball. Fifty-five percent of Curry’s made field goals are assisted, and he has a 66% effective field goal percentage in “catch and shoot” situations, though only 25% of his field goals are this type.
While Curry is an outstanding ball handler but also careless at times with the ball, and Schröder is just as good a passer. So, when the duo is on the floor together, expect Schröder to be the primary facilitator of the offense.
How Will Schröder Be Used?
However, make no mistake—Schröder has a scorer’s mentality.
Schröder is extremely quick and loves to get into the teeth of the defense, where he can play make for himself and others. He has various finishes at the rim, though he struggles to finish through contact due to his slight stature. He excels in pick-n-roll situations and has become a more reliable jumper and 3-point shooter. However, he is still slightly below average from deep.
Also, Schröder is the primary ball-ballhandlerhe Warrioballhandlershooting. There are two reasons for this assessment: It will allow Curry more freedom to use off-ball screens and move freely. Also, his ability to get to the second level of the defense could give several Warriors’ 3-point shooters more open looks by drawing secondary defenders and kicking the ball out.
About 45% (eighth most) of Golden State’s shots are from deep. The Warriors are seventh in the league with 15 triples and 14th in 3-point percentage. Andrew Wiggins, Buddy Hield, and Curry are shooting over 40% from the 3-point line, while Draymond Green and Moody are making at least one trey a contest at a better than 36% clip.
Speaking of Curry and Schröder, it will be interesting to see how much Steve Kerr pairs them together. I expect Schröder to play around 30 minutes a game.
Likely To Start From Get Go
I wasn’t initially sure whether Kerr would start Schröder and Curry together because neither guard is good defensively, though both compete on that end. Opponents are shooting over 46% from the field, including 38% from the 3-point line, against Schröder, though he has been better than average inside the arc and has surprised me by creating some turnovers.
Curry has been extremely good on defense thus far this year, so the pairing may not be as disastrous as initially thought. Schröder has come off the bench for half of his career but has been mainly a starter for the last four seasons.
Plus, Kerr needs to find some continuity. He has already used 13 starting lineups, and the most used first unit has started just six games together. As a result, the Warriors starters are ranked 16th in the league and are the lowest-scoring unit at 66.5 points a game.
Curry, Green, Lindy Waters III, Jackson-Davis, and Wiggins are the Warriors’ most used starting unit, 3-3 when beginning the game together. But Kerr has run out eight different players at the beginning of games over the last five.
The Warriors’ most-used five-man combination has been Curry, Green, Jackson-Davis, Wiggins, and Waters. It is conceivable that Kerr uses this lineup with Schröder replacing Waters as a starter. Here is what Anthony Slater of The Athletic said about Schröder’s possible role:
Schröder is expected to step into a large role in the Warriors’ backcourt. He’s an extra scorer and pick-and-roll ballhandler who should be able to run some offense while Steph Curry is off the court, yet also fit next to Curry in certain lineups, the Warriors believe, because of his pesky defense. Schröder’s arrival will likely lessen the minute totals for Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield, among others.
Where Do The Warriors Go From Here?
Schröder is on an expiring deal. Since Schröder and Melton’s trade was essentially a 1-for-1 deal – Beekman is on a two-way deal – and their money was nearly identical, the Warriors have some flexibility to make a bigger deal before the trade deadline.
With the trade, Golden State has an open spot on the 15-man roster and an open two-way spot. The Warriors are $330,000 from being hard capped at the first apron, which is approximately $107,000 less than they had prior to the deal.
Still, Charania believes that the Warriors will continue to look for another star. Jimmy Butler, among others, has been linked to the Warriors since the offseason.
‘The Heat is open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right, league sources told ESPN,” Charania recently said in an ESPN Insider article. “And Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, has indicated in league circles that Butler is open to destinations such as two of the Texas teams (Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks) and the Golden State Warriors. ”
Charania added that Schröder can be aggregated in a trade before the trade deadline.
“When a team acquires a player via a trade exception—in other words, not into cap space—it typically can’t aggregate his contract in another deal for the next two months. However, the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement contains a limited carve-out for certain players.
If a player gets traded on or before Dec. 16 and the receiving team uses an exception to acquire him, his contract can get aggregated either the day before the trade deadline or the day of the trade deadline. If a player gets traded on Dec. 17 or later and the receiving team uses an exception to acquire him, his contract cannot get aggregated at the trade deadline.”
Kuminga and Podziemski have been rumored to be in high demand, so it is possible they can make a profile deal. However, I think it is essential that the Warriors see what they have in Schröder. Schröder could be a bridge for the Warriors when Curry decides to retire.
With Brooklyn’s incoming second-round pick, Golden State now has a first and second-round choice this summer. The Warriors also have their own first-round pick from 2026-2029 to trade.
Grade Trade: A+
Brooklyn Nets Trade Grade
Brooklyn has long been rumored to be one of the biggest sellers, perhaps the biggest, depending on what New Orleans does. It just so happened that Schröder was the first to be dealt with. Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Bojan Bogdanovic are not projected to finish the season with the team.
Obviously, the Schröder trade is all about the future. Melton won’t play for the Nets and will be a free agent at the end of the season. Cam Thomas is dealing with a hamstring injury, though he could be back this or next week. Bogdanovic has yet to play and has no timetable.
It might have been curious why Beekman was included in the deal, as two-way players are generally dealt. But the Nets just found out that rookie Yongxi Cui, who is on a two-way contract, will be out for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL.
Beekman was playing well for the Warriors G-League team at Santa Cruz. The 23-year-old undrafted rookie point guard averaged 18.7 points, 7.2 assists, and 2.8 assists with shooting splits of 51.5/34.5/60.0 in nine appearances for Santa Cruz. He scored in double-figures in all nine appearances and produced one double-double for SCW.
Nets Salary Cap
The Nets waived Cui to make room for Beekman. Cui played only 10 minutes in five appearances with Brooklyn.
Cui also appeared in six games for Long Island, averaging 5.2 points, 1.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds with shooting splits of 32.1/42.9/75 over 14 minutes per year. Once the 21-year-old Chinese national gets healthy, the Nets will likely re-sign him to another two-way deal.
Brooklyn has 15 players on standard contracts. They will likely fill all three of their two spots with healthy players when the trade is complete. The Nets are a tax-paying team, though they are $5.4 million below the first apron, where they are exempt. The Nets have four trade exceptions, including two (totaling $10.8 million) that expire at the trade deadline.
Trade Grade: B-
Brooklyn’s three-second pick seems slightly undervalued by Schröder. But he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Technically, the Nets received two-second rounds back to Golden State. The Nets currently have 27 draft picks, including potentially five in the upcoming June draft from 2025 to 2031.
How Does The Nets Fill Point Guard Spot
With Schröder gone, the Nets will need a new starting point guard. Ben Simmons is the likely and straightforward answer. Simmons has started 13 of his 19 appearances, though he has come since December 1.
Thomas could also start at the one when he returns from injury, though he is certainly better suited for the two. Veteran Shake Milton is the next best option, with Beekman a possible option down the road. He will likely spend most of the year with Long Island to continue his development.
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