Anyone who pays attention to the Sacramento Kings knows that they have big roster problems and need to make some trades. But the front office is stuck because of big-money contracts, cap space, and the inability to find teams looking to take on the players they're trying to move.
It's easy to look at the roster and see what's working and what isn't. There are a lot of players putting out great individual performances, but they aren't playing well as a cohesive unit. Yes, time will help as they learn to work together and find the rhythm they need, if that happens.
What they do need are more players who make plays and set up their shooters. The Kings are also woefully weak on defense and rebounding, which is crazy to say since Domantas Sabonis is on the team. The Kings need new blood, but there's a major reason why they can't.
To be fair, he inherited $153M of the Kings' $189M salary. It was a broken mess of a roster to begin with and Perry spent the summer getting super glue and duct tape. https://t.co/DR17v7deuU
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) October 30, 2025
New general manager Scott Perry was left with a lot of big-money contracts he simply cannot move. Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, and Dennis Schroder are making roughly $177 million between them this year. And that doesn't count Keegan Murray's extension.
Next season will also be rough for the Kings
Zach LaVine has a player option next season, but the rest are locked in until at least 2027-2028 or later. Most of those big-money contracts are not going anywhere unless Scott Perry can find some trading partners to work with. And that didn't work out at all in the most recent offseason.
If you REALLY want to pull back, this is what Scott Perry is facing.
— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) October 30, 2025
It’s not just this year, they’re in roster construction hell next season also.
Unless he can move some seemingly immovable contracts, the Kings are between a rock and a hard place for this AND next season.
As such, Perry is likely stuck for at least this season and next season. That means this is the Sacramento Kings' roster for the foreseeable future. Even if they are able to start making big moves in 2027-2028, it will take a couple of seasons for improvements to kick in.
Assuming he doesn't take his player option, LaVine's contract will end after the 2026-2027 season, as will DeRozan's. It's hard to see either the Kings or the players wanting to extend. That frees up more than $75 million in salary cap to work with, giving Perry the room he needs to maneuver.
This is the long way of saying that fans really shouldn't expect much from the Kings in the near future. Without an unexpected major trade, the front office will spend the next two seasons shuffling deck chairs around on the Titanic. After the 2026-2027, everyone might finally see some real changes.