Did the Sacramento Kings pay DeMar DeRozan too much?

Method #3: Looking At Recent Precedent

Since the NBA and the National Basketball Player’s Association (NBPA) recently agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement last April, the only offseason that compares to the financial landscape we've dealt with this free agency period is last offseason. So, let’s focus on similar examples from the Summer of 2023.

While there weren't nearly as many sign-and-trades in the 2023 offseason as there have been this year, we can still find comparable case studies. For instance, Khris Middleton – a former All-Star who is closer to a top 50 player than a top 25 one nowadays and is on the wrong side of 30 – signed a new contract last offseason. The average annual value of his deal was 31 million dollars (22.8% of the salary cap) – much higher than what DeRozan got.

Kyle Kuzma is another useful example. He isn't as good as DeRozan, but he's younger, and he occupies a similar archetype (an offense-first forward who can get buckets). Last year, Kuzma signed a deal that would pay him an average annual value of 22.5 million (16.5% of the salary cap). That is right around what DeRozan is making next season, despite DeRozan being the superior player (83rd percentile in Estimated Plus-Minus while Kuzma is in the 59th percentile).

The Bottom Line

Overall, it looks like by all three of our methods, DeRozan is not only a good on-court fit but one that comes at a bargain price. Based on the methods we used above, DeRozan should be getting an amount that pays him 20+% of the salary cap next year. But instead, the Kings are only using 16.6% of the salary cap on his contract. This is just another reason to love this move for the Kings.