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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
Let’s gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-oh!
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