With the Cleveland Cavaliers sending the Dennis Schröder and cash considerations to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Tre Mann, per ESPN, the 32-year-old guard now adds a dubious distinction to his NBA resume.
It marks the ninth time Schröder has been traded, making him the second-most moved player in league history. First on the list? That honor belongs to Trevor Ariza, who was traded 11 times in 18 years from 2004-2022 and played for 10 different teams. The Hornets will be the 12th team Schröder, entering his 14th NBA season, suits up for.
There’s also a couple more coincidences that tie the two well-traveled journeymen together: most notably, they both had multiple stints with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ariza arrived in LA via trade in 2007 and though a fractured bone in his right foot kept him from contributing heavily to the Lakers’ Finals run that saw them lose to the Boston Celtics in six games that season, he played in all 82 games for the only time in his career in 2008-09 and emerged as a key role player in the playoffs, averaging 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and shooting 47.6% from 3-point range as the Lakers brough home their 15th NBA championship. He left that offseason in free agency, signing a five-year, $33 million contract with the Houston Rockets.
He later returned to the Lakers for one more run in purple and gold in 2021-22, though a right ankle injury that he underwent a procedure for in October ended up derailing his season. Ariza was waived on April 7, 2022 after playing in just 24 games, starting 11 of them, and averaging just 4 points while shooting 33.3% from the floor and 27% from deep. He never played in the NBA again.
While Schröder never overlapped with Ariza in LA, he missed him by just a year on both ends. The Lakers traded for Schröder, in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Danny Green and the draft rights to Jaden McDaniels, just ahead of the 2020-21 season as part of a retooling in their ill-fated title defense. He averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists on a 43.7% field goal percentage and 33.5% from 3-point range in 61 games played. But in the postseason those numbers dipped to 14.3 points and 2.8 assists on 40% shooting (30.8% from 3) as the Lakers were bounced in the first round by the Phoenix Suns in six games.
There were rumors (and many, many memes) about Schröder reportedly turning down an $84 million contract extension with the Lakers, but he later claimed that wasn’t true. He eventually signed a one-year, $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics in the 2021 offseason but returned to the Lakers a year later, telling ESPN’s Dave McMenamin he had “unfinished business.”
His individual numbers took another small dip in 2022-23 as he averaged 12 points and 4.5 assists on 41.5% shooting, but Schröder had arguably his biggest moment in purple and gold in their play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves when LeBron James, driving under the basket, dished the ball to Schröder in the corner and he drained a tie-breaking 3 with 2.4 seconds left in regulation. The Wolves still managed to force overtime, where Schröder again came up clutch with two game-winning free throws to complete LA’s unlikely rise from 13th in the West at the trade deadline to the seventh seed.
Since that 2023 Western Conference finals run, Schröder has played for the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, Cavaliers and now, the Hornets. He’s one team away from tying Ish Smith’s NBA record of playing for 13 different teams in his NBA career.
But it’s not like the latest move doesn’t make sense; it does, for all parties involved. The Cavs are now $32 million under the first apron and have more flexibility to fill out their roster as they pursue a new deal for James Harden, while Charlotte adds a veteran ballhandler to a young but talented locker room that includes Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Coby White and Naz Reid, who they acquired earlier this summer in the LaMelo Ball trade.
More importantly, Schröder brings playoff experience — something the Hornets haven’t experienced since 2016.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dennis Schröder has now been traded 9 times. Is that the NBA record?
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