Kings Should Push DeMar DeRozan Trade and Keep Domantas Sabonis amid NBA Rumors
The Sacramento Kings need their roster to look different going into the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Zach LaVine-DeMar DeRozan-Domantas Sabonis combination only got the Kings into the Western Conference play-in round. It may be easy to break up at least one piece of that core for a fresh new look next season.
Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reported the Kings "are expected to explore trades for DeMar DeRozan" in the offseason.
Anderson also reported that the franchise "could test the market for Domantas Sabonis."
Dealing DeRozan is far easier from the Kings' perspective because they have younger players ready to step up into scoring roles.
The trade into the first round of the 2025 NBA draft to land Colorado State's Nique Clifford added more young scoring to the lineup.
Clifford and Devin Carter, last year's first-round pick, have the potential to boost Sacramento's offensive output.
There's no built-in replacement for Sabonis currently on the roster and finding an answer at center outside of current backup Jonas Valanciunas could be difficult.
Moving DeRozan, who has two years left on his contract, doesn't immediately diminish the Kings' hopes of being competitive in a crowded Western Conference either.
They would still have a big man in Sabonis to deal with the likes of Nikola Jokic in tough interior matchups. They might have to rely more on LaVine, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray to score at the start of the season, but all three players had a double-digit scoring average last campaign.
Murray would be pegged to take a step up in his offensive game, if DeRozan were to leave, but that shouldn't seem like too much of a challenge for a player who just two seasons ago averaged 15.2 points per game.
Clifford comes into the Kings roster off a season at Colorado State in which he averaged 18.9 points per game. Clifford knows how to make his own shot in the tough areas, especially the ones in the mid-range where DeRozan can be successful.
It may take a month or two for Clifford to adjust his game to the NBA, but that's a risk you're willing to take, especially if you moved up in the draft to land him.
Carter was a volume scorer with 19.7 points per game in his final season at Providence. He didn't make a huge splash in his rookie year, but the scoring potential is there, and the path to more minutes and additional scoring is there if DeRozan leaves.
Landing a depth player, or loading up with a few draft picks, would be the return for Sacramento if it offloads DeRozan.
Trading DeRozan is a far easier move to deal with than letting go of Sabonis. At least in this case the Kings have the scoring depth already available to potentially take a step up in the Western Conference standings.
