The Sacramento Kings probably don't have any use for DeMar DeRozan in 2026-27. Granted, they didn't have any reason to keep him on the team this year, either, but the Raptors' all-time leading scorer still played 77 games for the tanking team, and it didn't get in the way of the team's attempts to lose, so who really knows.
With next year being the final year on his contract, will the Kings finally find a new home for DeRozan? Will a contender take on his $25 million expiring deal? Probably. It's not like DeRozan is a negative on-court asset; almost two decades in, he can still get a bucket on his own.
He averaged 18.4 points per game this season on fine efficiency, and him wanting to play pretty much every night for a franchise in freefall is actually a great example of why he's been so loved everywhere he's played. He just goes about his business, no matter how bad his team is. And his team was really bad this year.
DeMar DeRozan won't be with the Sacramento Kings for long
For the record, the Kings don't have anyone to fill DeRozan's spot if they do find a trade partner for him (or decide to buy him out, which might be in the cards at this point). The wing depth in Sacramento is pretty much nonexistent, and keeping DeRozan around could be simply because there's no one else to eat minutes on the wing.
The Kings' roster doesn't have much promise. Presumably, their summer plan will be to add anyone they think can be in the team's longterm plans. DeMar DeRozan, who will be 37 next year, does not fit that description. Thus, the question that will determine whether the Kings have any interest in keeping DeRozan will be just how bad are they willing to be next year?
If the answer is "as bad as possible," then they could choose to dump DeRozan, run with whatever young guys are on the roster to start 2026-27, and try for a historical tanking season (if that even benefits them in 2027 as the league ponders anti-tanking measures).
If the answer is "just pretty bad," then maybe DeRozan has one more go-around in Sacramento in one of the strangest late-career arcs in recent memory. But as DeRozan has officially become an expiring deal as the Kings finish out the season, a move for the former Raptors legend at least feels more likely than before. But the Kings remain an anomaly.