Dennis Schroder doesn’t fit OKC Thunder ball movement system and should be traded

Given the OKC Thunder strategy of ball movement and Dennis Schroder’s defiance of that principle, it’s time the club makes him a trade candidate.

It probably feels like I don’t cut OKC Thunder backup point guard Dennis Schroder enough slack given his production. If you frequent our post-game grades you’ll know it’s a subject I’m constantly harping on and it’s getting worse instead of improving. Particularly when he’s often either the leading scorer or one of the top three in point production for the club.

The question which should pop like a neon light, however — is that the role he should be playing?

One look at the feature image on this article highlights most plays, most nights when Schroder has the ball. He drives into traffic with his guys all wide open while defenses collapse on the point guard. Sure, he scores plenty, but again is this the best usage of his talents or more importantly the best way to develop the young players he captains in the reserve unit?

Consider the fact Abdel Nader suddenly broke through in back to back games last week but instead of nurturing that promise by getting him consistent shot attempts Schroder is ignoring him to take his own shots.

Versus the Blazers Nader took nine shots to score 23 points. In the same game, Schroder took nine shots and scored 10 points although he wasn’t the man feeding Nader since he collected no assists. The next game against the Pelicans, Nader followed up his previous effort with 19 points on 7 of 11 from the field. You’ll recall this was the game Schroder scored 25 points. But it took 24 shots to get there. Mind you, this performance was easier to accept since Schroder dished out seven assists.

Cut to last night and Schroder again was hoisting up the ball, repeatedly calling his own number to the tune of 17 shot attempts to collect 18 points and paired it with a single assist.

To put this in perspective, every player who hit the court except Nader collected an assist. Nerlens Noel and Deonte Burton (who played EIGHT minutes) equaled Schroder’s single assist while six other players dished two or more.

The problem with this is Schroder is the backup point guard and as such the onus is on him to get his teammates involved offensively.

One would think a priority would be to get Nader rolling specifically given his recent breakout, but the players who helped him get shots were Burton, Adams and himself.

A scan of Schroder’s  most frequent court mates and their shot attempts tells the story:

• Bazley – two
• Nader – four
• Noel – four
• Burton – one

In other words, Schroeder took 17 shots and dished the ball to his teammates infrequently. Dive deeper into that quartet’s shot attempts and many were created from their own boards, creating their own shot attempt or via another teammate.

Even the thunderous putback dunk by Adams only happens because Schroder missed his shot. Watch that clip back and tell me passing it to Adams to deliver a similar dunk isn’t a better option.

The 11 shots the reserve unit took that weren’t taken by Schroder netted 16 points with both Nader and Noel shooting 75 percent. Schroder shot a respectable 47 percent but ask yourself if the Pacers defense would’ve had a more difficult time if the shots were equally distributed.

The bottom line is I’m not immune to Schroder being a factor in the offense but I’d prefer to see him involving his teammates more.

First, it keeps the opponent defenses guessing instead of making it easy for them because he often telegraphs the fact he’s going to take the shot.

Second, the players on the court with him need touches and need to develop a rhythm and flow in the match. If they aren’t getting touches consistently how are they supposed to excel offensively or deliver when called upon?

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And most importantly, Schroder’s output often equals his shot attempts. As stated earlier, on nights when he’s dishing dimes it’s not as much of an issue but when he’s only looking for his shot at the expense of his court mates it’s not conducive to the players melding as a unit or growing within the system.

Russell Westbrook often took flack for putting up too many shots particularly on cold shooting nights, but he always tried to involve his teammates and it was a rare outing for the Brodie not to be dishing double-digit dimes even on those off nights (and that was with an offense without players who’ve proven they can score like Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chris Paul that he often plays beside.

Moreover, without superstars like Paul George and Westbrook on the team and a revised ball movement offense, his buy-in to that principle means moving the ball and getting these youngsters shots.

I was hopeful Schroder would learn from Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari who involve their teammates and take what the game gives them. Furthermore, if that trio is forcing a shot it’s not only necessary but their role dictates they be the three primary scorers.

At this point, Billy Donovan and Sam Presti have to ask themselves if keeping Schroder is worthwhile because it certainly isn’t helping the development of the young players on the club. In the era of replenishing and repositioning it’s essential those principles become a habit which means the point guards more than anyone have to take the leadership role in making that a reality.

It’s confusing because Schroder is more than capable of delivering — but he either refuses to do so or is more intent on getting his. Either way, in this narrator’s opinion it’s time to move on from Schroder and add a point guard who is willing to assume that role and motivate the youngsters to excel.