DeMar DeRozan Calls Out Kings After Team's Historic 13th Straight Loss vs. Zion, Pelicans

Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan couldn't hide his frustration as the team suffered its 13th successive defeat Monday night.

During a break in the third quarter of a 120-94 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, DeRozan threw down a water bottle, forcing arena staffers to clean up the spill.

The six-time All-Star said the moment reflected his exasperation with Sacramento's performance.

"A lot of stuff we do is self-inflicted," he said, per the Sacramento Bee's Jason Anderson. "Us not being in the right spots, make it a chain reaction, them getting back in transition, getting easy shots, easy buckets, so (the water bottle incident) was just me wanting us to play the right way, win, lose or draw."

Kings coach Doug Christie told reporters after the game he chatted quickly with DeRozan to discuss what happened.

"His frustration is more about, first of all, ending a skid, and also after being so close that it could go either way in so many games, this is the first time in a minute where we had this kind of result where we weren't really in a game," the coach said.

Sacramento owns the NBA's worst record (12-43), and things are unlikely to improve significantly when De'Andre Hunter, who's already sidelined, was the biggest addition prior to the trade deadline.

Monday's loss set a new franchise record for the Kings' longest losing streak since the franchise moved to Northern California in 1985.

For DeRozan, a lifeline in the form of a buyout probably isn't happening, either. ESPN's Anthony Slater reported on Feb. 4 the team had "zero plans" to pursue that path if the veteran wing remained on the roster through the deadline.

Sacramento can either trade him in the summer or simply waive him and pay out the $10 million guarantee in his contract.

For now, the team has a golden opportunity to snap its losing skid Wednesday against the Utah Jazz, who are still looking toward the future even after acquiring Jaren Jackson Jr. Granted, the Pelicans should've been a winnable game, too, when they were 14-40 heading into Monday.

Maybe the Kings haven't hit the bottom yet.