The Sacramento Kings are expected to ship away some of their top stars this season as they embark on yet another rebuild, but trading them reportedly won’t be easy.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported that veteran shooting guard DeMar DeRozan has drawn “some interest” from the Los Angeles Clippers, but there isn’t much buzz surrounding star big man Domantas Sabonis and wing Zach LaVine.
DeRozan has a partial guarantee on his deal for next season for nearly $10 million of his $25.7 million salary, making his contract movable. However, Sabonis is owed a combined $94 million in the next two seasons, making it more difficult for teams to add his deal to the books. League sources told Amick that LaVine “has no clarity as to whether he’ll pick up” his $48.9 million player option for the 2026-27 campaign and added that he “has hardly been playing well enough to inspire suitors of late.”
The structure of those deals makes Sabonis and LaVine less attractive in trade scenarios than DeRozan. During Monday’s episode of The Hoop Collective (23:25 mark), ESPN’s Tim Bontemps echoed that sentiment, saying there’s “no market” for LaVine and Sabonis trades that would garner the type of return Sacramento is hoping for.
Amick went on to add that even sixth man Malik Monk could have a shallow trade market because he has a combined $41.7 million on his deal in the next two seasons with a player option in 2027-28. Fourth-year guard Keon Ellis, who is making $2.3 million on an expiring deal, reportedly is “widely seen as one of the most coveted Kings players among rival teams.”
At 4-13, Sacramento is going nowhere fast, so it can be expected that there will be some major changes coming to the franchise. The Kings will be hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves (10-6) on Monday night.
