DeMar DeRozan: Zach LaVine Trade Eased Concerns About Kings' Direction After Fox Exit

Last week, DeMar DeRozan said during an appearance on FanDuel's Run It Back show that losing a player like De'Aaron Fox would make it "tough" to envision a long-term future with the Sacramento Kings.

Fox was indeed traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-way deal that also involved the Chicago Bulls, but the Kings landed Zach LaVine in the process, which helped soothe over the concerns DeRozan had about his future in Sacramento.

"For sure," he told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. "It's hard to come across an All-Star player, a dynamic player like a Zach LaVine. That would ease anybody's mind, and the relationship I have with him makes it that much better."

DeRozan and LaVine spent three seasons in Chicago together, leading the team to one postseason appearance. But after the Bulls went just 39-43 in the 2023-24 campaign, missing the playoffs for a second straight year, the team allowed DeRozan to depart in free agency as part of a sign-and-trade deal, with the veteran forward signing a three-year, $74 million contract with the Kings.

The Kings have a new look after the Fox trade, with DeRozan now partnering with LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk as the core group. Whether that's enough to vault the 25-24 Kings into the postseason remains to be seen, as the Western Conference is loaded. But adding LaVine at least addressed some of the concerns DeRozan had going forward.