The Kings intend to waive veteran forward DeMar DeRozan and stretch his salary over the next three years if they can’t work out a trade, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
DeRozan’s expiring contract carries a $25.74MM salary for next season that is only guaranteed for $10MM through January 10, so the move would come at minimal cost to the team’s future. The Clippers are expected to have interest in signing DeRozan if he becomes available, Scotto adds.
As Rory Maher detailed in our Offseason Preview at the end of May, the Kings project to be over the first apron in 2026/27 with only 11 players under contract (including the No. 7 overall pick). Waiving Derozan’s somewhat unusual contract and using the stretch provision is one clear way they could save money — it would result in a $3.33MM cap hit each of the next three seasons (through ’28/29).
If Sacramento waives and stretches DeRozan, the club’s payroll would fall to about $187.8MM with 10 players on the roster. That’s enough breathing room for the Kings to stay comfortably below the luxury tax line while giving them a small amount of flexibility to add a free agent or two for more than the minimum using one of the various exceptions they would have access to by operating under the first apron.
The Kings are trying to trade DeRozan, per Scotto, but that could be difficult. As Luke Adams explains in our glossary entry, DeRozan’s outgoing salary for matching purposes would be $10MM, but a team interested in acquiring him would treat his incoming salary as $25.7MM. An under-the-cap team could potentially make it work, but that club would likely need to be incentivized to take on DeRozan’s contract. His partial guarantee could also be increased to make the cap math work.
Coming off a 22-60 season, Sacramento is looking for ways to reduce costs. They’ll likely explore trade options involving Zach LaVine, who’s expected to pick up his $49MM player option for next season, and have talked to the Hornets about a Domantas Sabonis deal.
DeRozan will turn 37 in August, but he remains a productive and durable player and one of the league’s best crunch-time scorers. He appeared in 77 games this season, averaging 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 31.2 minutes per night. He has spent the past two seasons with the Kings after being acquired from Chicago in a three-team trade in the summer of 2024.
