The Sacramento Kings are struggling this season and not all of it is due to injury. As of this writing the Kings are 2-8 and headed towards another year without a playoff appearance and that has been with all of their starters healthy except for Keegan Murray.
With all due respect to Murray and what he brings to the table, he has not shown enough in his brief career to be that much of a difference maker for a struggling team. One of the issues with the Kings is the logjam of veteran players at the top of the roster and they are weighing heavily on the team’s payroll as well.
Domantas Sabonis, Zach Lavine, and DeMar DeRozan are making $113 million combined this season and are on the books through 2026-27 and 2027-28 respectively. DeRozan’s contract is not fully guaranteed for next season, Lavine has a $48 million player option, and Sabonis is under contract for the next two years.
That does not give the Kings a lot of flexibility and that is why many, including SacTown Sports 1140 host Carmichael Dave believes they will be sellers ahead of the trade deadline. Dave caveats it with the statement that this “reshaping [of] the roster” will happen “if opportunities exist” but we know that in the NBA if there is a will there is a way.
Aside from the aforementioned trio, there is also Dennis Schroeder who just signed a three-year deal and Malik Monk who is on a 2+1 deal with a player option that could be moved as well. We have seen NBA teams take on hefty contracts with some sweeteners in the deal but perhaps a contender could also see value in a player like Sabonis who is a double-double machine or a closer like DeRozan. Russell Westbrook is a trade candidate as well but that would be strictly for playing time as he is making just $3.6 million this year.
All it takes is one team to fall in love with the player and the dominoes will begin to fall. Many analysts and fans saw this change coming as soon as this roster was coming together but we now have enough of a sample size to see that it is simply not working. The Kings may be giving it another few weeks to fully make the decision to punt on the 2025-26 season but the writing has been on the wall since the summer
