When Dennis Schroder takes the court for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the coming days, it'll mark the 11th NBA team Schroder has played for in his 13-year career.
The NBA record for most teams played for is held by Ish Smith, who played for 13 teams during 14 seasons. Smith most recently played for the Charlotte Hornets in 2023-24. He announced his retirement in October 2024 and promptly began working as a pro scout for the Washington Wizards.
Dennis Schroder has great chance to break Ish Smith's record
At 32 years old, Schroder could ostensibly play another 5-7 years in the NBA, making it quite plausible that he'll tie or break Smith's record.
Oddly enough, The Athletic's John Hollinger suggested on Sunday that Schroder might not actually last with the Cavs for that long. Hollinger indicated that Cleveland might "re-route Schroder in a few days" to help with further salary relief.
As of now, the Cavs are taking on Schroder's $44.4 million over three seasons (including the current season), with only $4.4 million of his $15.5 million salary guaranteed for 2027-28.
It's worth noting that, even if Schroder is traded, that doesn't guarantee that he'll move closer to Smith's 13 teams. That's because Dennis could easily be traded back to one of the 10 other franchises he's played for already. That's happened before, with Schroder having spent two separate stints with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hollinger's suggestion was logical, but there's just as much reason for the Cavaliers to hold onto Schroder, especially if they have visions of trading Darius Garland and/or Lonzo Ball soon.
Schroder provides instant offense off the bench for Cleveland, a team that's struggled immensely when Donovan Mitchell is resting. With neither Garland nor Ball being a paragon of durability, Schroder could end up playing even more minutes than most people expect.
Not enough fans give Schroder acclaim for his epic run of performances at EuroBasket 2025, where he led Germany to the title and garnered tournament MVP honors along the way.
They choose instead to mock Schroder for his growing list of NBA homes and his infamous "fumbling of the bag" ordeal with the Lakers contract he turned down.
At the end of the day, Schroder is a natural scorer and a fierce competitor who isn't afraid to dive into the thorns with the world's best players; hence his recent feud with Lakers megastar Luka Doncic.
This is the kind of instigator that the Cavs could really use as they look to lay waste to a weakened Eastern Conference, more in the fashion of how they operated in 2024-25 but haven't been able to replicate thus far this year.