Dennis Schröder is officially a Sacramento King. The Kings announced today that they have completed a sign-and-trade with the Detroit Pistons bringing Schröder to Sacramento along with a 2029 second-round pick in exchange for a 2026 protected second-round pick. The Kings absorbed Schröder into the Traded Player Exception they had leftover from the Kevin Huerter trade, while generating a new one for the Pistons, hence the Kings also getting a second-round pick (the one the Kings are giving up almost certainly won’t convey as it is protected 31-55). By absorbing Schröder into the TPE, the Kings still retain their full Mid-Level Exception, although it remains to be seen what the Kings would actually use that for at this point given that most of the bigger free agents are now off the table and it’s unlikely the Kings will want to pay into the luxury tax for this roster.
Schröder’s signing being made official ends days of drama that the Kings were going to be including Malik Monk in the deal, or working with the Pistons and Warriors to try to get Jonathan Kuminga in Sacramento as well. The Kings may very well still look to pursue Kuminga, but they’ll need to find another partner than the Pistons to do so, or convince the Warriors to take Monk after all.
Willkommen Dennis!
Here’s the full press release from the Kings on the signing.:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —- The Sacramento Kings announced today that the team has acquired guard Dennis Schröder and a 2029 second-round pick as part of a sign-and-trade with the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a protected 2026 second-round pick.
Schröder spent the 2024-25 season with the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Detroit Pistons, averaging 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 28.1 minutes per game over 75 regular season games. In six games during the 2025 NBA Playoffs, he posted averages of 12.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 27.3 minutes per contest for the Pistons.
Originally selected 17th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Schröder has accrued career averages of 13.9 points (43.2 FG%, 83.6 FT%), 2.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists per outing in 842 games (424 starts) over 12 seasons in the League. He has appeared in 74 postseason games with the Hawks (2013-17), Thunder (2018-20), Lakers (2020-21, 2022-23) and Pistons (2024-25), averaging 11.9 points (42.5 FG%, 82.2 FT%), 2.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 25.1 minutes per game.
A native of Braunschweig, Germany, Schröder has played for the German men’s national basketball team since 2014. Schröder was the flag bearer for Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris where he averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 assists per game over six games and was named to the Olympic All-Star Five. During the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Schröder helped lead the German national team to a perfect 8-0 record while averaging 19.1 points and 6.1 assists per contest, guiding Germany to their first ever World Cup title and earning FIBA World Cup MVP honors.
Welcome to Basketball Hell, Dennis!
having Schroeder as your starting pg going into the season is one of the many levels of Basketball Hell being played out in real life. You don’t welcome that…
Basketball Heil.
So by using the TPE they actually are paying Schroder more than the MLE!!!?? Unbelievable.
I mentioned in the other thread that by adding Dennis (TPE), Saric, and Eubanks, to go along with Nique and Raynaud, the Kings are now much closer to the cap and first apron. I could very well be wrong, but my math has them at around $8-9M below the first apron, of which they are now hard capped, thanks to the S&T. Yes, hey have the full MLE, but I don’t think they can use it all unless they move off of additional salary. Can anyone confirm this?
I’m not sure how this plays out with the Kings still targeting Kuminga, but I’m guessing that cap sheet is tight with still more players needed to be added to the final roster, including a legit 3/4 and backup center (Eubanks ain’t gonna cut it)
Ham mentioned they used part of the TPE. If the contract is 3 years for $45m, with the 3rd year a partial guarantee, that’s an average of $15m/year. The TPE was for $16.8m. Adding in the raise after each year, I think it starts at the MLE level for this season and then goes up each of the next 2 years.
Also, Terrance Davis can be traded after July 9th, and his contract guarantee deadline is 1/10/26. Not sure if you had that in your calculation. He might be a candidate to be included in a trade and then waived by the acquiring team.
Oh, that TD thing is an interesting wrinkle. It could be why the Kuminga thing seems to be on pause.
” …and it’s unlikely the Kings will want to pay into the luxury tax for
this rosteran actual championship contender while under the majority ownership of Vivek Ranadive.”I couldn’t help it, I had to fix it for you.
Seems to me that the roster in 2025 is currently less talented than the roster that started in 2024 . Rookies need to be immediate contributors . Time for another Vegas Championship .
This. If the Kings are chasing the play-in, they’re failing. If they’re rebuilding, they’re failing. The guys from last season are professionals, but I have to think there’s going to be real friction from players this season (DDR especially) who are going to be on a worse team and want to be somewhere else.
I just can’t fathom they are going into the season with this roster. If they do, it will be one of the most poorly constructed rosters in league history. Regardless of the talent level on the roster, this is a 30’ish win team MAX. A bunch of chuckers along with a collection of some of the worst defensive players of their era. It’s recipe for something gloriously inept.
Man, I will be pissed off if they get 30 wins. So pissed off. Realistically I see 32-36 and that angers me. I need teams to stomp them like it is an insult. Last year post Brown firing was the first time I actively rooted for losses and that is why I didn’t watch games. This will be the first full season I want them to lose. I don’t care. This team has enraged me. They need to suck. I don’t care if the locker room is cancerous. I want sub 30 wins and Domas, Monk, DeRozan gone. They need to get younger and start over.
I think your first sentence is the real point. Subliminally they know they have to tear down and rebuild but they just can’t admit it to themselves so they take this in between approach. I don’t however believe the Schroder trade is anything too negative other than it helps us win a few more games. I would imagine, the team will struggle especially in the west and near the trade deadline it will be readily apparent a tear down is necessary.
So I’m going into the season watching the games hopefully I’m dramatically surprised about their performance and if what I think happens, happens then I’m happy management finally realizes a full blown rebuild is necessary.
The Kings will be around 11th at the deadline, and they want to add to get to the 10th. That is what I expect.
Let’s hope not but you could be right. I think they will be around 11th and I think the reality of the situation will hit management.
from James Ham on X.com
Also important to add the ö on the keyboard is alt + 0246
So SAC gets a 2nd Rd pick for signing Schroder so DET can get a trade exception – at least SAC used the opportunity to gain a 2nd Rd pick instead of giving them away like the previous regime. Also, I really like the pick protections on the pick SAC is sending out, it’s just a technicality as an inclusion.
I don’t think people give a föck?
Many here are still calling Doncic ‘Luca’.
Do you know where we’d be without Da Bullz trades right now? Barnes, Huerter, and Fox all expiring! That’s where everybody wants to be. Probably still coming off two play-ins. All options open! They never ‘built around’ Fox and Sabonis with the kind of athletic wings and 4’s like Indiana has. Then they made it worse with the untradeable Bullz contracts. Unintentional tank time.
Its been an unintentional tank since Vivek took over.
Are we certain it’s unintentional? Every year that goes me has me thinking it’s more about the bottom line than winning or losing. Winning costs money and losing doesn’t pay, but remaining barely relevant sells tickets.
I agree that the goal isn’t to compete for a championship. They clearly have no interest in that. So yes, I think you’re right. Either that or Vivek really is just this bad at owning a team. Either way, we’re totally screwed while he owns the team.
Vivek really is that bad at owning a team.
It’s not unintentional and it is not a tank but an attempt to hover around the play-in without incurring too high costs, indeed.
I think you’re definitely onto something Adamsite….This signing truly baffles me — the Kings are paying $15 M/year for Dennis Schröder, an aging guard with negative advanced stats, to lead an older, imbalanced roster that’s clearly worse on paper in 2025 than it was in 2024. Despite being labeled a “defensive point guard,” Schröder’s defensive metrics have consistently been below league average, and his overall impact has declined as he’s aged.
Meanwhile, better options were available in free agency for far less. Tyus Jones signed with Orlando for just $7 M on a one-year deal, bringing elite efficiency, steady playmaking, and his trademark league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio — everything Sacramento claims to need. Ty Jerome, also younger and more efficient, signed with Memphis for under $10 M annually, adding shooting and scoring punch with far better true shooting and offensive impact.
Paying a premium for an inefficient, declining guard when younger, cheaper, and more impactful players were available makes little sense, especially for a team already struggling to find balance and direction.
The counter to that would be that those players probably didn’t want to be in Sacramento. Tyus and Ty Jerome went to better organizations with better talent. Would they have to sacramento on the same deal that Schroeder got? Maybe.
I’m not high or low on the Schroeder signing, it’s just kinda “meh” to me. Would Ty Jerome and Tyus Jones, etc. be getting the same reaction if the Kings got them for the same contract that Schroeder got?
This franchise isn’t going anywhere with PGs that were available in free agency or on the trade market. They have bigger roster issues that haven’t been resolved (LaVine and DDR).
That’s true and very fair. I doubt we’ll be able to move LaVine Hope we can move DDR. And DDR seems like a class act. It’s a shame. He’s just a horrible fit for the kings.
After watching DDR last season, he either looked selfish or “nobody else is going to shoot it, so I will.” I just don’t enjoy his style of play on offense or defense.
I totally get that, but they why sign Schroder to a guaranteed 3 year deal? He’s gonna be 34 by the end on a contract similar to Monk’s that nobody is going to want. If you had to fill the PG position as a stopgap, put the player on a team friendly deal that will have value in the future.
We continue to sign players to deals that we then have to attach assets to in order to move.
So true.
True but I don’t think that will be the case with Schroder.
As I understand it, the deal is really 2 years.
The Knicks sat back and got JC and Yabul for nothing.
Wiz got Cam Whitmore for nothing and Perry and Vivek are trying to trade the farm for Kuminga and give him a fat contract.
makes no sense.
Trade the Farm? Carter, Saric, and teo 2nd round picks? That’s the the Farm?
I think we should wait and see if any deal come to fruition. That’s the rumored deal from the Kings perspective as discussed by local media. Warriors media is angling for a future first round pick. It may be argued that a future first and basically an unproved rookie in Carter on a a controlled deal may be an overpay in a few years time. Time will tell.
Especially if the contract is in the 30 mil per range.
Yup, or if he just becomes another version of an inefficient and ball dominant Kuzma or is a head case in the locker room. There are some red flags there if Kerr won’t play him and the Dubs are ready to wash their hands of him.
Kerr messed around with Moody’s playing time too, and Podz was in and out of starting group and had his minutes fluctuate during the season.
What I didn’t hear were those guys speaking about it to the media, or having their feelings become public somehow. With Kuminga, it was widely known somehow.
I think that Curry and Green run the locker room, and don’t have much patience for young players. It is kind of like a club. Not the best place for Kuminga and Moody. But that doesn’t mean they will improve a lot elsewhere, they are a bit of mystery.
Two of the worst run franchises just trading crap to one another, but the Kangz have gotten much more of the crap (ddr, lavine).
Yawn. Same as it ever was. Sacramento signs some guy from some team where he was a blah, so he can come here and be a blah.
I’ve read this same story on some level 3 or 4 times a year…every year… for many years.
Your Sacramento Blahs ready to battle for number 10 in West !
Let’s gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-oh!
Got to do something. Try again. Monk and Carter and 2 seconds for PJ Washington and Naji Marshall. Next up DeRozan? Maybe Heat still want him so DDR for Wiggins. Or R osier and Jaquez. Either I would do.
I don’t see why the Mavericks do that deal. Acquire 2 small guards for big wings/forwards? Even with AD, Lively, Gafford, and Flagg, they have enough minutes for PJ amd Naji at the 3 and 4. It’s a long, athletic team that plays defense. They signed D’Angelo to be their PG with Kyrie injured.
At this point, I’m guessing trades won’t happen until the deadline when Vivek and Perry realize even the play-in ain’t happening.
I’ve resigned my self to the idea that the Kuminga trade won’t happen and Perry will eventually trade DDR for Kuzma. Bucks need another scorer next to Giannis and they really don’t need Kuzma with Myles Turner and Portis sharing the frontcourt with Giannis. The Kings need length and will put the trigger as a last resort. Schröder, LaVine, Keegan, Kuzma and Sabonis. Good time to become a fan of hockey.
Honestly, swapping DDR for Kuzma is a lateral move, imo. That’s how little I think DeMar has on winning games. So sure, swap players, but the Kings better get something else from doing that, like Tyler Smith or a 2nd round pick.
Team is screwed anyway.
I really thought there was a chance this FO would at least trade off some of the core this offseason and do a semi rebuild.
This is not even a playin team, or barely if that.
We should be shooting for a top 4 pick in next year’s draft.
Vivek is as Vivek does.
Just an idea. Monk for Patrick Williams. Williams is only 23 and IMO is about to take hold and produce, He and Keegan together would be a good fit. Keegan at the 3 for shooting and Williams at the 4 for defense. One would space the other. Williams can take on even bigger 4’s as he is tough and physical. At 23 he has room to improve especially on offense.
Williams doesn’t start but has in the past. Monk would fit right in with the Bulls either as a starter but more important as their 6th. man.
Both have the same salaries and I would even throw in a second or 2.
Bulls just signed Tre Jones, they have Giddey, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu at the PG/Combo guard spots. Adding Monk just complicates things for them, unless they move off of some of those guys.
Patrick Williams…Seen him play several times, had zero impact on the game. He’s out there running around, looking like he is playing basketball, but just had no effect on anything. Injured, has not gotten any better since being drafted, and still has 4 years and $80m on his deal.
Also, more Bulls? I think finding a different team to trade with would be a good idea.
I do enjoy Chicago.. in the late spring and early fall as long as it’s not the south side
Why is it that the Kings always try to build a team differently than everyone else? The results haven’t been positive, and now we have a team that can’t move the ball and can’t play defense, in a league that prioritizes both for success.
35 wins would be an amazing achievement.
For the past 13 years (?) there has been a dismissive little chap who thinks he knows basketball more than anyone else.
NBA 3.Doh!
Do we really know the true numbers required to sign Kuminga. Something like what Alexander Walker got with some team options would be acceptable to me. When I first pitched Kuminga many weeks ago, I thought he would get around 10-12 mil a year. I haven’t seen anything that indicates he’s gotten much interest in free agency and I haven’t seen any offers he apparently declined so do we really know what he commands. I think it’s the Warriors throwing around Gorilla dust to they can hoodwink someone into an overcompensated sign and trade.
I continue to keep with my position that I’d like to have him at the right price and IF (big if) we got him and made the trade DDR for Rozier and Jaquez, then we had a successful offseason with some young flyers to enjoy.
Nique, Jaquez, Ellis, Kuminga, Murray, Raynaud, maybe Carter.
starting lineup not horrible
Schroder, LaVine, DDR (hopefully traded, then replace with Ellis), Murray, Sabonis. A little small but decently talented.
Badge Legend