DeMar DeRozan’s time with the Sacramento Kings is over after two seasons.
The Kings waived DeRozan and the remainder of his expiring contract on Monday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
DeRozan was signed for the 2026-27 campaign at a cap hit of $25.7 million, per Spotrac. His salary for next season included $10 million in guarantees, according to Spotrac.
Stretching out that guaranteed money over the next few seasons could help the Kings manage their salary cap after Zach LaVine opted into his $49 million player option for next season.
The Kings were $13 million over the first luxury tax apron and sitting right around the punitive second apron after LaVine picked up his option, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
DeRozan will now hope to get that chance to make his first appearance since 2022 by signing with a contender this offseason. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto previously reported the Los Angeles Clippers would have interest in signing DeRozan after he parted ways with the Kings.
The Clippers may not be alone in their potential pursuit, however. Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel has linked the Miami Heat to DeRozan as well. Miami could look to bring in the star to team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
DeRozan most recently averaged 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and a steal through 77 games of his second campaign with the Kings.
The Kings originally inked DeRozan to a three-year, $74 million deal as part of a three-team sign-and-trade in July 2024.
The franchise was hoping pairing DeRozan with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis could push the Kings closer to championship contention in 2024-25.
Instead, Fox was traded as the Kings stumbled to a play-in loss in 2025.
The team ended up even further from a playoff bid in 2026 after going 22-60 and finishing 14th in the Western Conference.
Members of the Kings front office will be left with pressing questions about the direction of their team.
Sabonis has also been subject to trade rumors, and after parting ways with both Fox and DeRozan the Kings might be considering continuing with a full rebuild.
