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Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterDec 16, 2024, 01:52 PM ET
- Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
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SAN FRANCISCO – After acquiring point guard Dennis Schroder, GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. said the Golden State Warriors will remain aggressive on the trade front as they try to maximize the championship window for Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
After a 12-3 start, the Warriors have lost eight of their last 10 games. Dunleavy officially acquired Schroder on the first day he was eligible to be traded on Sunday. And he said he will continue to look for ways to improve Golden State.
“We’re always aggressive,” Dunleavy said on a conference call to discuss the Schroder addition. “You got to be mindful of what you’re giving up, what you’re getting back, all those things. But anything to do to make the team better, we’re going to do.
“We’re in a time zone here of maximizing our window with Steph, Draymond and Steve [Kerr] as our coach. So as proven here on the first day we could basically make trades with certain players, we did that… For the most part I feel good about this team, particularly on the defensive end and now we have a player that we think could create and generate more offense for us. I want to evaluate and see, but we’ll always be looking at stuff.”
Schroder, who will be introduced to reporters after practice on Tuesday, was acquired along with a 2025 second-round pick (via Miami) from the Brooklyn Nets for De’Anthony Melton, Reece Beekman and three second-round picks (2026 and 2028 via Atlanta, 2029 via Golden State).
Schroder fills a huge hole left in the rotation by Melton’s season-ending knee injury. The Warriors view Schroder as a much-needed ballhandler and playmaker to help Curry, a point guard who can run the second unit if needed and one who can knock down perimeter shots and defend. During this slump, the Warriors have struggled offensively at times down the stretch of games to score.
Both Kerr and Curry say Schroder should fit in seamlessly.
“We’ve been changing our starting lineup, almost nightly searching,” Kerr said. “But he would seem to be a perfect fit to start next to Steph, but we got to see how it all plays out.”
Kerr said that Schroder’s strength on pick and rolls is something Golden State needs offensively. Schroder averaged 18.4 points, 6.6 assists and 38.7% shooting from behind the arc this season for the Nets.
Curry also likes the competitive nature Schroder will bring.
“He got that dog in him,” Curry said. “… He’s very animated and I’ve never not seen him in the moment trying to rip your head off type vibe.”
Schroder is on an expiring contract but Dunleavy said he hopes this can be more than just a short-term rental.
“We still think he’s got a lot of good years left in him,” Dunleavy said of the 31-year-old point guard. “And we’ll have his Bird rights, the ability to re-sign him after the season. We think he’s a good fit for us on both sides of the court and hopefully there’s a relationship here longer than just a few months.”
