Dennis Schroder is staying in the Eastern Conference, but he won’t be playing for the Cavaliers anymore.
The experienced point guard has been traded to the Hornets, with Tre Mann heading back to Cleveland. This move, as reported by ESPN, appears to be mainly about saving money.
By making this trade, the Cavs reportedly trim over $30 million off their books for Schroder’s remaining two years, while bringing in a player who will earn $8 million this season—less than half of Schroder’s $14.8 million for the 2026-27 season.
Mann, who is 25, also has a team option for the same $8 million in the 2027-28 season.
ESPN mentions that the Hornets are also receiving some cash as part of the deal.
This is the second trade for Cleveland since missing out on LeBron James, who decided to sign with the 76ers last July after contemplating a return to either Cleveland or Miami.
Additionally, the Cavs added Mario Hezonja, a former No. 5 draft pick, as a free agent this summer. He recently spent four seasons with Real Madrid, winning the Euroleague title in 2023 and claiming La Liga ACB titles in 2024 and 2025. He even received the MVP award in 2026.
Dennis Schroder, the MVP of the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2025 EuroBasket, will celebrate his 33rd birthday on September 15 as he heads into his 14th NBA season.
Schroder has prior experience with Hornets head coach Charles Lee, having played under him when Lee was an assistant coach on Mike Budenholzer’s staff from 2014 to 2018, which overlaps with four of Schroder’s first five seasons in the league.
Moreover, he has a connection with Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson, who was previously the assistant GM for the Nets before joining Charlotte in March 2024. Schroder had a spell with the Nets from February to December of the same year.
Standing at 6-foot-1, he is just 88 games shy of hitting the milestone of 1,000 NBA regular-season games, a mark only achieved by 156 other players. He will be joining his 12th team once he reports to Charlotte.
In the last season, Schroder averaged only 8.2 points and 4.3 assists, shooting 40 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range. This was his least productive season since his rookie year, likely influenced by the fact that he averaged just 21.4 minutes on the court—his lowest in a decade.
Despite the Hornets achieving the league’s highest net rating during the last four months of the regular season and making their way to the play-in spot, Mann didn’t significantly impact that success.
He had limited playing time, averaging just 12.6 minutes per game, with 5.5 points and 1.6 assists while shooting 36 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from beyond the arc.
This marks the ninth trade of Schroder’s career, making him second only to Trevor Ariza, who has been traded 11 times.
