The Sacramento Kings have finally spread DeMar DeRozan's remaining contract across the next three seasons. That means they stay below the luxury tax line and have just enough cap space to fill those last two roster spots. It's a move that has the potential to prevent disaster this season.
Waiving DeRozan was not a shock to anyone. Sacramento needed to make moves, he didn't fit the rebuild, and he was only guaranteed $10 million for 2026-2027. It's not a huge amount of money in basketball terms, but it's still enough to allow the front office to get some work done.
They have officially taken that $10 million and spread it across three seasons at roughly $3.3 million per season. That cuts almost $7 million out of this year's payroll for the Kings. It's a clutch move as it keeps them clear of the first apron as well as all the luxury taxes and penalties that come with it.
On top of that, it also means the Kings now have the salary cap space to fill their final two roster spots. Those players will have to be on incredibly inexpensive contracts, such as veteran minimums, for that to work, but it is doable at this point. That's a good thing, particularly for Darius Acuff Jr.
Acuff might actually get some backup this season
No, Acuff is not getting a veteran minimum contract, though that would be pretty funny if the Kings tried to give him one. What the Kings can do now is sign at least one veteran point guard, maybe two, to help develop Acuff as well as giving him legit bench support. That would be huge.
At the moment, Acuff is on his own. The rookie is literally the only dedicated point guard on a rebuilding team. His only backup at the moment are a couple of shooting guards who can kind of play point guard sometimes. That's not the kind of support or pressure a rookie needs to be subjected to.
The Kings have been working out with a few potential veteran additions, including Ben Simmons and Cam Payne. Victor Oladipo is also in the mix, but he's primarily a shooting guard and the Kings have no shortage of players at that position. Still, some combination of these three seems likely.
If nothing else, Sacramento at least has some breathing room to make decisions like this, not to mention options. They're not all good options, but they're still options. As long as Acuff gets some kind of support at the one, that should ward off any major issues with his development and usage.
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