Dennis Schroder: Hornets are ‘a better situation for me’ than Cavs

Dennis Schroder isn’t complaining about being traded by the Cavaliers. Actually, he seems pretty happy about it.

Schroder told German outlet Braunschweiger Zeitung that he views his move to the Hornets as “a better situation for me,” citing the difficult role he had alongside Donovan Mitchell and James Harden in Cleveland.

“When you have two legends in your position who bring the ball up the court and play a lot of isolation, then it’s just difficult,” Schroder said, via Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.

Schroder described his role with the Cavaliers as “extremely difficult” after arriving from Sacramento at the February trade deadline.

That’s understandable. Mitchell and Harden dominate the ball, and Schroder is at his best when he’s allowed to create, push the pace and run an offense. There simply weren’t going to be many opportunities for him to do that in Cleveland.

Still, Schroder didn’t sound bitter about his short Cavs stay. He said reaching the Eastern Conference finals was “cool” and indicated he enjoyed the experience overall.

Schroder also said he had known for roughly a month that Cleveland was exploring a trade.

The Cavs finally made one Friday, agreeing to send Schroder and cash to Charlotte for Tre Mann. The deal saves Cleveland $6.8 million in salary and gives the Cavs additional flexibility as they continue working toward a new contract with Harden and potentially another offseason addition.

Meanwhile, Schroder should have a more natural role in Charlotte as the primary backup to Coby White.

He’s also looking forward to working with Hornets coach Charles Lee and serving as a mentor to German youngsters Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr.

“For them, it’s obviously a blessing to have someone to chat with,” Schroder said.

For Schroder, this will be NBA team No. 12. And from the sound of things, he’s perfectly fine with the latest change of address.