Report: Kings waive DeMar DeRozan

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported today that the Kings have officially waived DeMar DeRozan after failing to find a trade partner for his services.  This allows DeRozan to find a path to a new team and gives the Kings a chance to start fresh and get under the luxury tax.  DeRozan’s deal was only guaranteed for $10 million, and the Kings have until August 31st to decide if they want to stretch that over the next 3 seasons.

DeRozan joined the Kings in the summer of 2024 after a disappointing follow-up to the original Beam Team season.  The Kings had needed to make a splash for a while but after striking out on various opportunities like OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, they instead brought in the veteran DeRozan in a sign-and-trade with Chicago.  DeRozan was supposed to be a piece that could get the Kings back into playoff contention, but the fit never truly materialized and the Kings quickly transformed from a young and exciting team to an old and fading one.

It clearly wasn’t the situation that DeRozan had signed for when he joined, but he was a consummate professional throughout.  Over two seasons, DeRozan averaged 20.3 points on 48.6% from the field to go with 4.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 steals a game.  He clearly still has a ton of talent, and now has the opportunity to exit a rebuilding situation and find a more competitive team as he enters the final stages of his career.

The Kings are now well under both aprons but still have a little ways to go to avoid the luxury tax.  Stretching DeMar’s salary would get them under but given that they don’t have to decide until August 31st, the Kings will likely wait and see if any other moves might open up some more room first.  The Kings are currently about $1.3 million over the tax, and stretching DeRozan would give them about $5.3 million in space under the tax this year if they want to create some room for a couple more signings.  The Kings currently have 13 players under contract but do have room for at least two more.