Pistons add a much-needed point guard to help carry the load when Cade Cunningham rests
The Detroit Pistons used the NBA Trade Deadline to fill its most glaring weakness, adding Dennis Schroder to fill the role of backup point guard.
The deal means Schroder is being traded to his fourth and final team in 24 hours and his fifth franchise of the season. Schroder began the year playing solidly for the Brooklyn Nets , who then shipped him to a Golden State Warriors team with playoff aspirations on Dec. 14.
Schroder was then packaged by the Warriors in the big trade that netted them Jimmy Butler, with the Heat then shipping him to the Utah Jazz . The Jazz then rerouted him to Detroit. In exchange, Utah is picking up a second-round pick from Detroit along with KJ Martin and Josh Richardson.
That means the Pistons, who started NBA Trade Deadline week with $14 million in cap space have surpassed the deadline with Schroder playing a primary role as backup point guard, Lindy Watters III as more wing shooting depth and two second-round picks.
It’s fitting that Schroder landed with the Pistons. Not only does he fill a gigantic need on a team fighting to secure a playoff berth, he seems to be the heir apparent to former Pistons fan-favorite Ish Smith.
Smith, famously, was the ultimate NBA vagabond. He had played with 10 teams in seven seasons to begin his career, until Detroit picked him up and he played three consecutive seasons of solid basketball under Stan Van Gundy.
He left the Pistons to sign with the Washington Wizards where he played for 2.5 seasons and then played briefly for three additional franchises. In the end he played for 13 teams in 14 seasons.
Schroder isn’t quite that prolific, but he’s catching up. He played his first five seasons with the Atlanta Hawks , and then has jump from the Oklahoma City Thunder, to the Los Angeles Lakers , then the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz. He then returned to the Lakers for a season, then jumped from Toronto to Brooklyn, where he started this season. The Pistons will be the ninth actual season he suits up for and plays a game.
He was having a very nice year in Brooklyn, averaging 18.4 points per game, hitting 50% of his twos and 38% of his threes. He also averaged 6.6 assists and just 2.6 turnovers. Things mostly fell apart in the Warriors offense that he didn’t fit into smoothly.
Detroit’s offense plays more to his strengths, and he will likely have the ball in his hands quite a bit. He isn’t a good defender, but I would wager he gets abused on that end a bit less than Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley and is more reliable than Marcus Sasser.
He will obviously be counted on whenever Cade Cunningham is off the floor and can reliably run an NBA offense. He also might see time alongside Cade, especially if they want to have another ball-handler during crunch time.