The Kings have made a move and it’s a big one! According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sacramento Kings are trading Harrison Barnes, Chris Duarte, and pick considerations in a three-team deal that will see six-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA guard DeMar DeRozan land in Sacramento for 3 years, $74 million. Barnes and a 2032 unprotected first round pick swap will be headed to San Antonio, while Chris Duarte and two future second round picks will be sent back to Chicago.
DeRozan’s acquisition should be seen as one of the most significant free agent signings in team history. Although he’s a bit on the other side of the hill at 34-years of age, DeRozan is still an incredibly productive player, having averaged 24 points, 4.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals last season. He represents a massive upgrade in the starting lineup, whether he slots in as the shooting guard or small forward, and his ability to penetrate defenses and draw fouls (7.7 free throw attempts per game – which would have led the Kings last year) should open up the floor for Sacramento’s shooters, as well as Fox’s and Monk’s lane penetration and Sabonis’ high-post dribble hand-offs. Perhaps even more impressively, he accomplished those feats while averaging a league-high 37.8 minutes per game in his 79 appearances. There should be no injury or durability concerns despite having played in 15 NBA seasons.
And while he’s not exactly a threat from deep, having knocked down only 33% of his 2.8 three-point attempts in the 23-24 season, DeRozan isn’t necessarily detrimental when it comes to spacing the floor. Teams still must respect his ability to both attack the paint off the dribble and pull up and hit the middy (43% on a league-leading 6.9 attempts per game), meaning Sacramento’s offense shouldn’t be gummed up even without Barnes’ reliable outside ball. His clutch game will also be a boon to Mike Brown’s late-game offense, as DeRozan scored 4.6 clutch points per game last season, which also led the league.
Defensively, DeRozan isn’t going to solve any of Sacramento’s problems, but he also likely isn’t going to be much worse the Kevin Huerter or Harrison Barnes. And with Barnes exiting the roster, there’s no doubt that Monte McNair needs to pull off another trade or two. The roster is currently even more unbalanced than last season, as Sacramento now employees De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, Devin Carter, Keon Ellis, and Kevin Huerter at the guard spots, with Keegan Murray remaining as the only true wing on the team. Considering DeRozan’s hefty salary of $24.6 million, the Kings will likely need to seek some lower cost options on the market, likely leaving Cam Johnson or Kyle Kuzma as potential primary targets, while bigger names such as Lauri Markkanen, Brandon Ingram, and Jerami Grant are or will likely be too expensive from a cap management perspective.
The fandom has understandably questioned Monte McNair’s ability to land big deals after having sniffed around so many major names and massive upgrades for two straight seasons, but DeRozan’s acquisition is quite the feather in this front office’s cap. The journey to balance the roster and build a competitive, sensible depth chart isn’t nearly complete, and no “Mission Accomplished” banners should be hung quite yet, but with multiple tradeable contracts, multiple first rounders, and the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions still at their disposal, Monte McNair and company should be able to make some additional splashes prior to training camp.
