One NBA veteran is turning to an unusual comparison to cope with trade deadline season.
Golden State Warriors guard Dennis Schroder sparked controversy this week with his comments about the trade deadline. Schroder compared the constant possibility of being traded to slavery.
“It’s like modern slavery,” Schroder said, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s modern slavery at the end of the day. Everybody can decide where you’re going, even if you have a contract. Yeah, of course, we make a lot of money and we can feed our families. But at the end of the day if they say, ‘You’re not coming to work tomorrow, you’re going over there,’ they can decide that. They got to change that a little bit.
“But still grateful that we’re here and that we can live this every single day,” added Schroder. “I think everybody who’s in here is blessed. But if you really think about it, it is kind of crazy that the organization can tell you, ‘We want you to be team-first, but you’re going over there.’ It’s a lot.”
You can read Schroder’s more extended comments on the matter here.
Schroder’s remarks come in the wake of the bombshell Luka Doncic trade over the weekend, which has left NBA players feeling like nobody is safe if someone of the caliber of Doncic (a five-time First Team All-NBA selection and a consensus top-five player in the league right now) can be traded. The 31-year-old Schroder has also himself been traded multiple times before and was just acquired by the Warriors in a trade last December. Now reports are that Schroder could be moved again before this week’s trade deadline.
Marc Spears: "Dennis Schroder is now available for trade" pic.twitter.com/1CPuu19d02
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 4, 2025
Of course, NBA players can tip the scales back in their favor some with free agency. Additionally, due to what is called an implied no-trade clause, teams are unable to unilaterally trade players who re-sign with them on one-year contracts (a provision that also applies to both 1+1 deals with player or team options in the second year as well as to qualifying offers).
But for the most part, NBA players are almost always trying to lock in as much money as possible for as many years as possible. When that is your top priority, the risk of being traded by your team at any time simply comes with the territory.
Ultimately, Schroder’s comments ring a bit hollow here when he is making $13 million this season (regardless of where he plays) and is up to over $100 million in total career earnings. But it is possible that Schroder is a tad salty about the NBA landscape, especially after he notably botched his free agency a few years ago.
