Twenty-four-year-old seasonal assistants working in the basketball operations department of an NBA team are rarely asked for their input on what players to select come draft time. There’s simply too much at stake and they’re usually too inexperienced for this type of situation.
This was Jeff Peterson’s first NBA job – then with the Atlanta Hawks – after finishing graduate school in 2012, and where he started his impressive climb to becoming the Charlotte Hornets’ Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. Going into the 2013 offseason, Danny Ferry, Atlanta’s President of Basketball Operations and General Manager, wanted to hear Peterson’s thoughts about the upcoming NBA Draft. So, too, did Assistant General Manager, Wes Wilcox.
So, they eventually invited Peterson into the war room for the big night on June 27, 2013. When the Hawks were finally on the clock to make the 17th overall selection, Peterson was part of the group in favor of drafting Dennis Schröder, a lanky 6-1 German-born point guard. After a few additional minutes of conversing, a final decision was made. Schröder would be the selection.
By his second season, Schröder was averaging double-figure points and dishing out more than four assists per game over 77 appearances and 10 starts for a 60-win Hawks team. On top of that, he finished tied for 11th in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year voting and came in ninth for Most Improved Player. “That was amazing,” said Peterson, recalling his first NBA Draft experience. “I think that helped me build some credibility because at that position, I thought we should draft Dennis, which helped us a lot. If a team’s winning, everybody benefits from that.”
Then 19, Schröder’s first visit to Atlanta after getting drafted was also his first voyage to the United States. When bringing over younger international players, it’s normal for teams to provide additional support to help with the assimilation process. Figuring out the NBA game is already a massive undertaking, and even more so when surrounded by an entirely new culture.
Atlanta’s front office designated Peterson, who was promoted to Basketball Operations Coordinator going into the 2013-14 campaign, as the one who would work with Schröder as he navigated this multifaceted transition. During the season, players spend a tremendous amount of time around the team, so having somebody like Peterson available was invaluable for Schröder. If he needed something or had questions, Peterson was readily there for him.
Said Schröder, “I remember like it was yesterday. I had my big sister and my niece with me when I came over, but having somebody who took me under his wing and made sure that I’m okay off the court was big time. Jeff was a big help and I appreciate everything that he’s done for me.”
As the pair navigated their first full-time jobs in the NBA together, a tight bond quickly began forming. Over the next handful of offseasons, Schröder invited Peterson to accompany him when he traveled back to Germany to play for the National Team. They would then spend several weeks alongside one another, living and training together every single day.
All that time abroad was a great experience for Peterson in more ways than one. A former guard at Iowa, Arkansas and Florida State, Peterson was torn after graduating about whether to play professionally in Europe or take the Atlanta position. Though Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton, one of Peterson’s long-time mentors, persuaded him to take the path that he did, transitioning from the court to the front office at a young age was difficult, at first. However, these German excursions provided Peterson with a little taste of what he’d been missing.
“It was tough that first year because I had been in a locker room and on the court my whole life,” said Peterson. “Going from that to doing some of the stuff behind the scenes, which again, I really enjoyed, it was challenging. But with Dennis in Germany, I was essentially an assistant coach. It scratched the itch of me getting to be on the floor with the guys. I would spend 50, 60 days with him the entire summer, working him out, going out with his family, different things like that. I’m a huge believer that not just in basketball, but in life in general, you need to see different things, experience different places to live, and meet different people.”
Added Schröder, “We had great times with the National Team. Jeff was there every single practice, every single game. He came to my mom’s house, and she cooked food. In Germany, whenever somebody visits from the States, we try to make it as comfortable as possible. He became really close with my family. That was probably the best part of it. He liked it over there, too. I’m sure he’ll want to come back to Germany in the future and experience that again.”
But as everybody in the NBA knows, change is inevitable. Following five seasons and four playoff trips with the Hawks, Schröder was traded to Oklahoma City in July of 2018. Peterson, the organization’s Assistant General Manager by this point, left Atlanta the following offseason and took the same role with the Brooklyn Nets. Their paths briefly intersected again last month when Brooklyn acquired Schröder from the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline, less than three weeks before Peterson was officially hired by the Charlotte Hornets.
“When I was in Los Angeles three years ago, I was always wondering why Jeff wasn’t a GM yet,” recalled Schröder. “Three years later, he got to that point. To become a President or GM of an NBA club is big time. I’m really, really proud that he achieved that. That was always his goal. He was working hard, efficient, always honest. I think he’s going to do a great job in Charlotte.”
Schröder also accomplished a major feat in his own basketball career last summer when he led Germany to its first-ever gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and earned MVP honors. Winning the tournament also qualified the German National Team for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, a competition that Schröder will very likely be present for again.
Brought together by their mutual love for basketball, the lives of Jeff Peterson and Dennis Schröder both changed for the better the day they first met back in 2013. Neither one would likely be where he is at today without the support, guidance and love that’s been fostered throughout their unwavering 11-year friendship.
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