San Francisco (dpa) – Dennis Schröder received the news of his move shortly after dinner. The captain of the German national basketball team was still sitting at the table when his agent told him in a phone call that in the future he would play for the Golden State Warriors and alongside superstar Stephen Curry – and no longer for the Brooklyn Nets He has had his best NBA season to date. This happens quickly in the NBA; for Schröder it is already the fourth change in a current season.
“The reactions to it were initially very shocking. Being traded so early, after 25 or 26 games, is tough,” said Schröder to the German Press Agency about the moments in which he said goodbye to his now former teammates. The world champion no longer spends Christmas in wintry New York, but in San Francisco on the west coast of the USA. At the same time, the 31-year-old from Braunschweig also saw the Advent surprise as a good sign: “It obviously says how much they want you. In the end, it’s very, very cool.”
Green says: We have to adapt to Schröder
This is also made clear by the statements made by Warriors veteran Draymond Green after the 133:144 win against the Dallas Mavericks. “We didn't bring him in to fit in.” We play basketball in a way he doesn't play. I don't think he has to adapt to us. We have to adapt to it. “Because he does things that we lack, that we are not good at,” said the four-time champion. “He behaves as if he belongs in any room at any time. And I have a lot of respect for people who behave like that. I respect him for who he is and what he is.”
Schröder's debut is expected on Thursday against the Grizzlies
Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Schröder share the same agent, so the Warriors' interest in the development player came as no surprise. On Saturday, US media reported on the new exchange deal, and it has been official since Sunday. Schröder wanted to get on the plane on Monday and will probably make his debut on Thursday (local time) in the away game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
“I'm thrilled. “I told Dennis today that he has already kicked my ass on three continents,” Warriors coach Kerr reported of his conversation with Schröder. While still wearing the Lakers jersey, Schröder was “brilliant” in the playoff duels with the Warriors in 2022 – at the World Cup two years ago, Germany won against the US national team coached by Kerr in the semifinals on the way to the title, last summer a highly regarded test match before the Olympic Games. “He's a gamer, a competitor, a pick-and-roll player, a player who's good up front and back,” Kerr explained before the loss to the Mavericks.
Considerations with Schröder in the starting lineup
Since most of the work in the build-up game has been on Curry recently, it was the Warriors' eighth defeat in the last ten games. In the future, Schröder should relieve the Olympic champion and best three-point shooter in the league. “It can help me, it can help us,” Curry said of the move. “Whatever helps me helps us.” Kerr already indicated that Schröder is intended as a starting player. “We changed our lineup quickly every night because we were looking,” he explained.
The Warriors are clearly on course for the playoffs in the Western Conference despite the recent disappointing phase, but are no longer the dominant team that reached the NBA Finals six times in eight years between 2015 and 2022 and won the championship four times. However, two of the pillars of that time are still active in Curry and Draymond Green and Schröder's chances of winning the first title of his NBA career are now significantly greater than with the Nets or previously the Toronto Raptors.
Despite his twelfth season in the league, Schröder has only won anything big with Germany as world champions. With the Hawks at the beginning of his career and with the Lakers almost three years ago he made it to the conference finals, otherwise he was mostly with teams that were no longer or not yet in shape to be able to play at the top.
Schröder shouldn't settle in San Francisco
The Warriors could now offer Schröder a real opportunity. «I'm looking forward to the situation there. “I’m ready to play with people, Hall of Famers,” Schröder said. But it shouldn't be too at home in Northern California. As is usual with trades, Schröder brings his contract with him from Brooklyn – and it expires at the end of the season.
