1:47pm: In addition to having made Schroder available, the Hawks have also been motivated to move Kent Bazemore – their other highest-paid player – since last summer, sources tell Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). Fischer adds that Atlanta is currently viewed as the most active team on the “explorative” draft trade market.
11:56am: The Hawks have made Dennis Schroder available in trades, league sources tell Jeremy Woo of SI.com. However, according to Woo, the point guard has been difficult to move due to concerns about his attitude, along with the $46.5MM remaining on his contract.
Schroder had already been considered a trade candidate due to comments he made earlier in the offseason. As we detailed last month, the 24-year-old expressed a desire to compete for a title and a dissatisfaction with the Hawks’ performance in the 2017/18 season. While reports at the time indicated that Schroder hadn’t formally asked for a trade, he didn’t sound like a player excited about the prospect about going through a rebuild in Atlanta.
Schroder averaged a career-best 19.4 PPG last season to go along with 6.2 APG and 3.1 RPG. Typically, when a player entering his mid-20s is producing at that level and is under team control for three more years at a relatively affordable rate ($15.5MM annually), he’s a building block for a rebuilding franchise, rather than a trade chip. However, the Hawks’ current management group didn’t draft or extend Schroder and may not be attached to him. Additionally, the point guard’s hints that he wants out of Atlanta don’t bode well for a long-term union.
Complicating matters further is Schroder’s pending legal case. He was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge last September, with Georgia officials recommending in March that he be prosecuted for felony aggravated battery. Schroder figures to face discipline from his team and/or the league when that case is resolved.
The Hawks’ ability to find a taker for Schroder could have an impact on their draft plans this week. As Woo writes in his mock draft, the team is believed to be high on Trae Young. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders corroborates this account, writing that more and more league sources believe Young is the Hawks’ top target. If Atlanta uses the No. 3 pick on Young, or trades down to select him, it would negatively affect the club’s leverage in trade talks involving Schroder.
Draft doncic and give him the keys to the franchise
Doncic needs players around him to thrive. I think he has the potential to be a star, but him being in Atlanta during his development looks like a Devin Booker in PHX situation.
Both to the Bucks for Bledsoe, first round pick and one of the youngsters
Bazemore is a negative to me with that terrible deal. You’re gonna have to give something up to move him
More than any team, the Hawks look like they’re planning to be drafting high for the next couple of years. They should try and consolidate their extra picks (19, 30, the protected Cavs’ pick next year) with whatever they can get for Schroder (and/or Bazemore), and their ability to absorb a bad contract, and get a second high pick in this draft.
I think when it comes down to it Atlanta shouldn’t have too many problems to find someone to trade DS, his disciplinary record wouldn’t concern much, as it can be difficult for this guys to behave sometimes in a team that is a mess, in a better situation they do better & his numbers last year were very good at an affordable price, under control for years & young, plenty of suitors in my opinion.
Yes, battery charges are common for players on lottery teams. Once out of the lottery, they typically have rehabbed themselves and go on to have productive careers in the NBA.
I would imagine if DS went to a team like the Warriors, his record would clean itself and he would become a minister.