Hornets had their own reasons for making Dennis Schroder trade

The Cavaliers had obvious financial reasons for trading Dennis Schroder to Charlotte. Turns out the Hornets had some basketball reasons for taking him.

According to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer, Charlotte entered the offseason with a legitimate need for another point guard after trading LaMelo Ball to Minnesota and moving Coby White into the starting role.

The Hornets experimented with Sion James as a ball-handler during Summer League, but Boone writes that he struggled somewhat with those responsibilities. Without another addition, the backup job likely would have fallen to Tre Mann or rookie Christian Anderson.

Instead, Charlotte went with the veteran.

Schroder also arrives with some familiar faces waiting for him. Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson knows Schroder from their time together in Atlanta and Brooklyn, while coach Charles Lee also crossed paths with him with the Hawks. ESPN reported that Charlotte, Cleveland and Schroder’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, had worked on the trade for the past couple months.

Mann, meanwhile, had fallen out of Lee’s rotation last season. He appeared in 53 games and averaged just 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

So while Cleveland saved roughly $6.8 million and created additional roster flexibility, Charlotte wasn’t simply helping the Cavs clean up their books.

The Hornets needed a backup point guard, knew Schroder well and were willing to move on from Mann.

Sometimes a trade really can make sense for both sides.