It's no secret that the Sacramento Kings are dealing with payroll problems going into the draft and the offseason. As it turns out, the projected payroll for next year puts the franchise in a horrifying position. Big changes have to happen this summer or 2026-2027 could be an absolute mess.
The Sacramento Kings are projected to have a $225M payroll next season. That's $24M over the luxury tax and $3M over the 2nd apron.
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) April 15, 2026
Kings GM Scott Perry on the team's financial situation: “My philosophy is never to be a team going into the luxury tax unless we were ready to…
The Kings recently had their "exit interviews" with the media, a post-mortem of the 2025-2026 and a guarded preview of the next steps for the rebuild. As usual, general manager Scott Perry preached patience while still saying a lot by using a minimal amount of details. It's a Perry specialty.
Without question, the biggest issue of the offseason is the payroll. As Matt George of Sactown Sports pointed out on social media, the Kings are projected to be significantly over the luxury tax limit. The payroll will also be over the second apron, which could lead to significant penalties.
That's a huge problem for a team on the rebuild. Being in the tax means fines while being over the second apron leads to other team building punishments. That includes first-round draft picks being frozen. For a team like the Kings, that could kill any momentum they might build up.
Two Kings have to go to fix this problem
This issue could be solved by getting Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine off the books. Their contracts for 2026-2027 are worth nearly $100 million combined. Unfortunately, LaVine has a player option he's likely to take next season and Sabonis is around for two more seasons. Yikes.
Scott Perry says the buyout rout with Kings big contracts isn't his preferred path and likely would be the last resort this offseason. https://t.co/YJFy83d9Oh
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) April 16, 2026
Perry has made it clear, both at the exit interview and in follow up conversations with the Sactown 1140 crew, that the Kings will not be over the penalty line when next season rolls around. He's also said that contract buyouts are a last option, but he also didn't say they're off the table.
Naturally, the Kings are likely hoping to trade both LaVine and Sabonis this summer. The market was cool on them at the 2026 Trade Deadline, but more time and money has come off their contracts. There might be more interest this offseason in at least LaVine since he only has a year left.
Otherwise, Perry might just have to bite the bullet and buy at least one of these two out to get them out of Sacramento. The Kings cannot afford to be penalized on any level going into next season as that will trip up the entire rebuild process, which is already incredibly precarious.
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