Dennis Schroder traded to the Lakers

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic have reported that the Thunder and Lakers have agreed in principle on a trade that involves Dennis Schroder going to Los Angeles in exchange for the 28th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and Danny Green.

The Thunder will most likely look into flipping Danny Green and his $15.3M contract which will expire at the end of the 2020-21 season. Green had a down year last season with the Lakers, but he will command interest in the trade market.

Contending teams would love to add a guy like Danny Green. Green has a lot of playoff experience and plays a valuable role to a team. He defends well and can shoot from behind the arc at a respectable level.

The trade will not be made official until Monday due to the moratorium. The NBA’s moratorium period will end at 11 A.M. (CT). From that point on, trades and signings will officially be allowed. The 2020 NBA Draft is on Wednesday and the Thunder now own the 25th overall pick and the 28th overall pick.

Initial reactions to this trade have been a bit underwhelming; many people thought OKC could get back more for a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Schroder had an excellent season last year and you would think that he would have a lot of value on the market.

However, I like this deal more than the alternative of Oklahoma City keeping Schroder because there is little market interest. His value is at an all-time high with him coming off a career season. Schroder only has one season left on his current deal. It makes sense to deal him at the peak of his value.

The other possible effect of bringing Schroder back was the unnecessary risk associated with his shooting statistics. Dennis was hugely efficient las year; a regression in efficiency would tank his value. Those numbers would look like an outlier compared to the mean.