Kings announce they are ready to contend now with major free agency splash

After days of speculation, the Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls have agreed on a three-team sign-and-trade that makes DeMar DeRozan a member of our Kings.

As part of the sign-and-trade, DeRozan signed a three-year, 74-million dollar deal that will keep him in Sacramento through the 2026-27 season. The first two years of the deal are guaranteed, while the third year is partially guaranteed.

The Kings Want To Contend Right Now

As we discussed in a recent article breaking down the pros and cons of acquiring DeRozan, this deal alone does not vault the Kings into inner circle title contention.

However, DeRozan does give the Kings some much-needed firepower. Last year, the Kings were sorely devoid of on-ball creation after Malik Monk went down with injury. By adding DeRozan, the Kings get one of the best volume scorers in the NBA (91st percentile in points per 75 possessions, per Dunks & Threes). Plus, they don't have to worry about him being unavailable (*knocks wood*), as DeRozan played 79 of 82 games last year and led the association in total minutes played (his new teammate, Domantas Sabonis, was second in this category).  

DeRozan does hurt their spacing (career 29.6% 3-point shooter). But seeing as though they were able to nab him without trading Kevin Huerter (a huge surprise considering how heavily coveted he was by Chicago), the Kings will still have plenty of shooting on their roster.

On top of that, the Kings still have plenty of trade assets left in the treasure chest. If the Kings want to stay aggressive and address some of this team's lingering issues (spacing and rim protection), they certainly can (Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith are two potential options for doing that).  

Even with DeRozan, the Kings aren't world-beaters. However, with the Western Conference as wide open as ever (thanks to the major losses suffered by teams like the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers), they don't need to be to make some noise in the playoffs this year. And they maintain the flexibility to double down on this core if they so choose.

Regardless, this Kings team is the best one the franchise has fielded since 2003-04, which should make the 2024-25 campaign a magical season.