Should the Sacramento Kings trade for DeMar DeRozan?

As we've discussed before on this website, the Sacramento Kings likely need to find an upgrade for Harrison Barnes at the power forward spot if they want to become serious title contenders. And one name that has been coming up in these conversations recently is DeMar DeRozan.

But what are the benefits of trading for DeRozan? What are the downsides? In this article, we avoid talking about the specifics of what a potential DeRozan sign-and-trade (that is what would need to happen since he is an unrestricted free agent) would look like, and instead, we will focus on the pros and cons of bringing DeRozan to Sacramento.

Reason #1 For Trading For DeRozan: Reliability

In the load management era, where players are consistently missing 20+ games per year, DeRozan is remarkably reliable. Last year, he played 79 games (and led the league in minutes played), and over the last nine years, DeRozan has had seven seasons where he's played at least 74 games.

This will give the Kings a huge boost during the regular season. Along with DeRozan, De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis have proven to be quite the iron men over the last two years. That means the Kings will have their top 3 players playing almost every night while other teams have their stars in and out of the lineup. In a conference that is as competitive as the Western Conference, that could make all the difference in the standings.

Reason #1 Against Trading For DeRozan: Spacing

While DeRozan will almost always be on the court, teams won't always defend him when he's there. DeRozan has always been money with the ball in his hands (more on this in a bit), but when he's playing off the ball, it's a completely different story.

Last season, DeRozan shot 33.3% from downtown (30th percentile, per Dunks & Threes). For his career, he's only shot over 35% from three once (2021-22), and he's had nine years where he's shot under 30%.

In the NBA, you can live with having one bad spacer on the floor. But Sabonis and Fox aren't great spacers, either. That means that when the Kings are playing their best players, they will have three below-average spacers on the floor.

This will make getting to the paint incredibly difficult and force the Kings to rely heavily on midrange jumpers. Fortunately, DeRozan is a master of the midrange (99th percentile in midrange attempts last year).

Reason #2 For Trading For DeRozan: On-Ball Creation

Speaking of his midrange scoring, DeRozan is fluent in the art of getting buckets. Even during his age-34 season, he was in the 91st percentile in scoring volume while maintaining true shooting efficiency that was in the 61st percentile.

Last year, after Malik Monk went down, the Kings were really hurting when it came to on-ball creation. Fox can create for himself and others with the ball in his hands, but with Monk not there to tag in, there was no one else who could execute this role when the star guard needed to catch his breath.

If DeRozan was added to the mix, head coach Mike Brown could stagger the lineups to ensure that at least two of Fox, Monk, and DeRozan (if they all are healthy) were on the floor at any competitive portion of the game.

So, while the Kings will be hurting in the spacing department, acquiring DeRozan guarantees that they won't be bereft of on-ball creation (arguably the most valuable skill in basketball) any time soon.

Also, acquiring DeRozan (since it is via sign-and-trade) won't cost you as many assets as it would to secure someone like Brandon Ingram or Lauri Markkanen. So, the Kings could theoretically make an additional move afterward (maybe even for someone like Cameron Johnson).

Reason #2 Against Trading For DeRozan: Limited Upside

DeRozan is a phenomenal player who has done a great job remaining effective well into his 30s. However, there is a reason that the Toronto Raptors won the NBA title in the season after he was traded to the Spurs. DeRozan is more of a floor raiser than a ceiling raiser.

(Sidebar: In sports, a floor raiser is someone who excels at making poor/average teams average/good. Meanwhile, a ceiling raiser elevates a good team and makes them great.)

All of the pros we've discussed with DeRozan have to do with keeping the floor intact under us. DeRozan gives you a guy who will always be there in case other players get injured. He gives you extra creation in case Monk or Fox is injured. You get the point. DeRozan gives you a nice safety net, but he doesn't amplify the current core the way a ceiling raiser would.

The ideal player for the Kings would be a power forward with size, rim protection chops, and the ability to space the floor (Markkanen). That isn't who DeRozan is. He's only 6'7. He's never surpassed the 50th percentile in block rate at any point in his career. And as we discussed two slides ago, he doesn't space the floor.

DeRozan makes this team better because he ensures that the dam doesn't break because of injuries. But he doesn't raise this team's ceiling enough to make them surefire title contenders.

The Bottom Line

Just because the DeRozan move doesn't vault the Kings into the inner circle title contender conversation does not mean they shouldn't make it. We have seen before that if your team is pretty good but not elite (the 2022-23 Miami Heat), they can make a deep run if luck (with 3-point shooting) is on their side.

Are the Kings with DeRozan good enough that if they have luck on their side, they can make a deep run? That remains to be seen. But the possibility of that being true makes acquiring DeRozan worth it. Plus, as we said, they still could make one more move after getting DeRozan to address some of the weaknesses created by his arrival.

Overall, I like the idea of acquiring him more than I do Kyle Kuzma, Jerami Grant, or Brandon Ingram. But I still would prefer they trade for Markkanen if that's possible.