Dennis Schroder is on the move again, this time to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Sacramento Kings are shipping Schroder out of town as part of a three-team deal involving the Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls, and the German’s NBA journey just keeps getting crazier.
The Atlanta Hawks had drafted Schroder with the 17th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, and here is how his career has panned out so far.
2013: Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks
2018: Traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder
2020: Traded to the Los Angeles Lakers
2021: Signed by the Boston Celtics
2022: Traded to the Houston Rockets
2022: Signed by the Los Angeles Lakers
2023: Signed by the Toronto Raptors
2024: Traded to the Brooklyn Nets
2024: Traded to the Golden State Warriors
2025: Traded to the Utah Jazz
2025: Traded to the Detroit Pistons
2025: Signed by the Sacramento Kings
2026: Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Schroder would have been traded eight times in total once this deal is finalized. According to NBA salary cap analyst Yossi Gozlan, that would be tied for second-most in league history. The only player to be traded more often is Trevor Ariza, who was shipped out of town 11 times.
Unfortunately, the 32-year-old Schroder has enough time to match or even surpass Ariza. It sure didn’t look like his career was going to pan out this way with how it started.
Schroder spent the first five seasons of his career with the Hawks and then the next two with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That was all normal, but since then, he hasn’t been with a team for two consecutive seasons. He probably should blame himself for that, to an extent.
As stated earlier, the Thunder traded Schroder to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. He made enough of an impression in his first few months with the Lakers that they reportedly offered him a four-year, $84 million extension in March 2021. Schroder is said to have turned it down, however, and if true, that was a big mistake. He would go on to struggle in the playoffs that year, and no big offer was suddenly on the table.
Schroder has been moved around by one team after another since then. These last two years have been particularly chaotic.
The Brooklyn Nets acquired Schroder from the Toronto Raptors in February 2024 and then moved him to the Golden State Warriors in December of that year. Months later, in February 2025, Schroder found himself part of the Jimmy Butler trade. He was traded to the Utah Jazz and then to the Detroit Pistons as part of that deal.
Just days before that, Schroder had compared the NBA trade deadline to slavery. He wanted a change in how things worked, but nothing has happened.
Schroder looked to have finally found a somewhat long-term home when he landed with the Kings on a three-year, $44 million sign-and-trade deal in the 2025 offseason. He didn’t quite live up to their expectations, however.
Schroder averaged 12.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game for the Kings in 2025-26. He was a starter for the first 12 games, but then got benched for Russell Westbrook. Westbrook’s suffering a right foot contusion led to Schroder starting the last two games, but he was going to head back to the bench once the Hall of Famer returned.
Schroder will be coming off the bench for the Cavaliers, the 11th team he’ll play for, when everyone is healthy as well. He’d be hoping they don’t trade him away anytime soon.
