We are back after a busy weekend of basketball transactions starting with the inevitable departure of Carmelo Anthony from O.K.C.

But I don't think any of us thought it would take this form or fashion.

No, that was the big surprise here and really the comparison that's good to make here is the difference between Carmelo Anthony being stretched because we all assumed with the money that he was owed that keeping him was untenable for Oklahoma City.

So them stretching him, trading him all that wasn't a surprise. But by instead in the deal acquiring Dennis Schroeder, Schroeder makes about 6.2 million more per season for each of next three because for this purpose, it's actually fortunate that both the stretch and Schroeder's contractor flat makes it easier for the math.

So Schroeder makes about next to 6.2 million per season over a stretch Carmelo Anthony.

And so that is a significant sum of money, especially when you factor in the lecture tax, repeater tax for this season, which this reduces their bill, but it doesn't reduce it over what they would have gotten for stretching Carmelo Anthony.

And so to me, the most important part of this for Oklahoma City's perspective is not that Melo is gone. It's that they made a pretty significant bet on Dennis Schroeder.

Yeah, and they also threw in that pick for 2022 lottery protected just for that one year, then it becomes the second rounders to repeat that.

And you could look at it as, you know, hey, they they had to jump, you know, over Dennis Schroeder, about $12 million in dead money over him.

And so maybe that's part of the cost, but for just 12 million, that's a and it is also pushed out pretty far to 2022.

Because remember, OK, C has that weird somewhat similar obligation from the Jeremy Grant trade where they have a top 20 protected 2020 second rounder, which is made its way to the Orlando Magic.

So you could think of that pick as payment for Anthony, but then also in part payment for getting back Schroeder and how much you want to divide that between OK, here taking on Melo's dead salary, taking on 12 million extra in dead salary for this year.

And then it seems to me like this deal slightly treat Schroeder as an asset on that contract going forward. Do you see it that way also?

I see it that way in this trade. I do not agree with the thunder that Schroeder's remaining contract as a positive asset.

No, well, and I'm of two minds about that. It's not hugely negative, though. It's not.

I mean, so there's this this kind of weird thing with Schroeder. And I've been battling through this. I also talked about it with Tim Bontemps for real jam radio for those who want to listen to that take on it.

About this is different where it's not as bad, you know, 15.5 million for a year for a guy who's kind of in the similar, let's say, around the 25th best point guard.

You know, that's not a terrible bit of money. I think what scared other teams off of this most notably Phoenix and Orlando, both of whom need a point guard, depending on how Phoenix structures the roster is the duration of this contract.

That even though Schroeder is young, he's 24 years old, basically committing money for those future years. Everybody has stars in their eyes about 2019 and 2020 summers.

That that was a little bit intimidating. And so I understand a team that doesn't have payroll flexibility for those years, not being as intimidated.

But Oklahoma City was not in that wiggle room space where oh, we don't have cap flexibility to spend to get new for agents, but we're also below the tax.

Their team is a little bit more expensive than that. So this is probably an asset play saying, hey, we're he's better than everybody like then, then the price that Atlanta was trying to get for him.

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