Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumors: Hawks in Talks over Deal Including Dennis Schroder
July 18, 2018
The Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder are discussing a trade that would include Carmelo Anthony and Dennis Schroder, SiriusXM NBA Radio's Mitch Lawrence reported Wednesday.
According to Lawrence, the Hawks would do a buyout of Anthony's contract, thus allowing him to sign with a contending team.
The terms of the proposed trade are somewhat surprising if only because many view an Anthony trade as a cost-saving measure for Oklahoma City.
ESPN.com's Bobby Marks noted the Thunder are looking at a $150 million luxury-tax bill. Dumping Anthony's contract would ease that burden a bit:
According to Lawrence, the Thunder are looking at Mike Muscala in addition to Schroder. Between those two players, Oklahoma City would add $20.5 million in salaries for 2018-19, which isn't much of a drop from the $27.9 million owed to Anthony.
There's also the big question as to whether Schroder is even a good fit in Oklahoma City. He has a 27.8 percent usage rate over his career, per Basketball Reference. Acquiring a ball-dominant guard is risky for a team that already has Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
Not to mention, the Thunder were tied for 23rd in three-point shooting (35.4 percent) and would be getting a player who has never hit more than 35.1 percent of his threes over a full season.
At the least, Schroder's days in Atlanta appear to be numbered. He threw out trade scenarios in May, and the team has clearly moved on from the 24-year-old German. The Hawks acquired Trae Young on draft night and traded for Jeremy Lin.
Even if Atlanta is acquiring Anthony only to buy him out shortly thereafter, the Thunder deal would help the Hawks achieve one of their top goals this offseason by cutting ties with Schroder.