Now that the draft is over, the next big step of the offseason is here as free agency is set to begin and the trade market heats up. We’ve already seen some big moves go down, with Giannis Antetokounmpo going to Miami and LaMelo Ball heading to Miami, as well as Austin Reaves and Trae Young re-signing with their respective teams for max contracts. So where do the Kings fit in? Let’s take a look at the team’s current roster and cap situation heading into free agency.
Rostered Players and their 2026-27 Contracts:
- Zach LaVine, $48.9 million (Player Option, almost certainly being picked up)
- Domantas Sabonis, $45.4 million
- DeMar DeRozan, $25.7 million (partially guaranteed for $10 million)
- De’Andre Hunter, $24.9 million
- Keegan Murray, $24.1 million
- Malik Monk, $20.1 million
- Darius Acuff Jr., $8 million
- Devin Carter, $5.1 million
- Nique Clifford, $3.2 million
- Killian Hayes, $3 million (Team Option)
- Alex Karaban, $2.9 million
- Maxime Raynaud, $2.1 million
- Dylan Cardwell, $2.1 million
Free Agents:
- Russell Westbrook, PG
- Drew Eubanks, C
- Precious Achiuwa, PF
- Doug McDermott, SF
- Emanuel Sharp, SG (Unsigned Second Round Pick)
- Isaiah Stevens, PG (Two-Way Player)
- Daeqwon Plowden, G/F (Two-Way Player)
- Patrick Baldwin Jr., F (Two-Way Player)
Cap Space & Luxury Tax Room:
Numbers provided by Spotrac.com
- Cap Space: -$93,318,227
- 1st Apron Space: -$1,009,538
- 2nd Apron Space: 11,990,462
- Tax Space: -$4,159,538
Available Exceptions:
- Jonas Valanciunas TPE ($4.96 million exception that expires on 7/13/2026)
- Dario Saric TPE ($5.42 million exception that expires on 2/1/27)
- Taxpayer MLE ($6.065 million)
The Kings can also generate the non-taxpayer MLE (projected $15.1 million) and the Bi-Annual Exception (projected $5.5 million) if they get under the 1st Apron. These exceptions would replace the smaller Taxpayer MLE. Additionally the Kings can offer any player a veteran’s minimum contract.
What are the Kings likely to do?
We know that GM Scott Perry has been opportunistic but patient in looking for ways to move off of the team’s expensive veterans. Domantas Sabonis has generated the most interest but for now the Kings appear to be unwilling to let him go without acquiring some sort of first round draft capital. The Kings would absolutely love it if Zach LaVine declined his player option but all indications from both him and his camp are that he isn’t doing that, and fair enough, as nobody else would be offering nearly that much in the open market and LaVine should still have a decent market after his current contract expires. DeMar DeRozan on the other hand is almost certainly gone. Chris Haynes reported yesterday that the Kings are actively shopping DeRozan, but if no offers work for them, they will almost certainly cut him and just eat the $10 million guarantee. I’m hesitant to believe there is much of a market for DeRozan, so I’m simply expecting him to be cut and sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. Cutting DeRozan would bring the Kings under the 1st Apron and below the tax, opening up some room for bigger exceptions or re-signing free agents.
Speaking of free agents, the Kings only really have two decisions to make regarding current players whose contracts have expired. Drew Eubanks is almost certainly gone with the emergence of Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell last season, and Doug McDermott should probably move on now that the Kings have drafted Alex Karaban. The Kings have indicated they would like to bring back Precious Achiuwa however, and there is mutual interest there. Achiuwa signed with the Kings on a veteran’s minimum contract last season, but played well, averaging 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists over 73 games. He probably will command more than the minimum to come back, and may have interest elsewhere as well, but I don’t expect too much of a pay bump although it will probably take more than just a minimum this time. Achiuwa seems like a good candidate for the Bi-Annual Exception ($5.5 million).
The other free agent the Kings might make a decision on is Russell Westbrook. Westbrook joined the Kings on a minimum shortly before the season after getting zero interest from other teams, and he quickly supplanted free agent signing Dennis Schroder as the team’s starting Point Guard, averaging 15.2 points, 6.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds over 64 games. The Kings did just draft Darius Acuff Jr. to be their new lead guard, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kings opt to keep Westbrook around as a veteran mentor if he’s up for it. Just take a look at what the Kings did the last time Perry was around after they drafted De’Aaron Fox; They brought in George Hill, Vince Carter and Zach Randolph as veteran presences. Reports indicate that Westbrook might want a pay bump to stay, and if that’s the case, I’d probably just say thank you for your time. But if he’s willing to take another minimum and come off the bench, I’d consider bringing him back.
The Kings will also need to sign second round pick Emanuel Sharp, and I think they will sign him to a real contract instead of a two-way deal. It will probably be similar to the structure they gave Maxime Raynaud last season (3 years, $6 million) if I had to guess. Sacramento can also decide if they want to bring back Killian Hayes or not as his contract is fully unguaranteed for next season.
Here’s what the Kings roster looks like with DeRozan cut:
PG: Acuff Jr. / Hayes
SG: LaVine / Clifford / Carter / Monk / Sharp
SF: Hunter / Karaban
PF: Murray
C: Sabonis / Raynaud / Cardwell
That’s 13 players and still a logjam at Shooting Guard. Bringing back Achiuwa and Westbrook would put the Kings at the maximum roster size unless they cut Hayes (which I would imagine they would if they brought Westbrook back). Assuming the Kings don’t find takers for LaVine or Sabonis, we could be seeing a fairly quiet free agency period for the Kings. I would guess that the Kings try to get at least one new player in Free Agency, although I don’t think we’ll be seeing any Jonathan Kuminga-like pursuits this season like we had last year. The Kings still have a dearth of size at PF and SF, so that’s what I’d expect the team to try to address if they can. They’ll also probably look at another Point Guard if Westbrook moves on. I have a feeling that we might start to see more opportunities open up for the Kings by the trade deadline, as both LaVine and Hunter’s contracts are large expirings, and even Sabonis and Monk’s contracts won’t look nearly as bad. This summer might be more about staying patient than anything as Perry deals with the mistakes of the prior regime.
Free Agency officially begins on June 30th.
Let Russ go. Even if he is willing to take the minimum. Keeping him around allows Doug to lean on him over playing the young guys. Just remove that option for Doug. Throw Acuff and Hayes out there and see what they have.
Precious was fine. He can come back if its the BAE or lower. Anything over that amount is too much.
They have young (by young I mean inexperienced NBA players that were recently drafted) guys that need to be on the court to see what works and doesn’t work. I don’t expect any high level talent to walk through that door via a trade or free agency this year. If they suck, they suck. Oh well, move on. Keep adding talent through the draft.
Let Russ book.
Free Russ?
You could probably put him out in front of G1C with a “Free Russ” sign and get no takers.
I wouldn’t take him for free lol
This and I think they should prioritize moving Monk before the season starts. Especially if they can’t, and I don’t this they can, move Lavine or Domas. These young guys need playing time and Monk is going to either be the crutch Christie used to try to win (I have no faith in Doug prioritizing growth) or sit on the bench most nights which is probably going to hurt his market more than help it.
Yes, Monk could be easier to move and should have been moved earlier last year. We only need guards that play good defense and we have too many undersized players.
Can you name one guard that plays good defense on the Kings?
If any playoff contender shows interest in Russ, he should join that team, try and win a title as a bench player before your career is over. It’d be fun if the duds assembled a geriatric team. Add Lebum and Westbrook to Steph, Draymond and Jimmy Buckets.
Or remove Doug.
[Why not both?-meme]
If Russ is back against all logic it’ll be more confirmation of Vivek doing whatever he feels like in spite of any type of coherent roster building. Russ being here last year just fits perfectly into the Vivek bringing in stars thing that he seems incapable of getting away from.
Because why not (and subject to no vet-exiting trades), I would really like to see the Kings trot out a front line of Domas / Max / Keegan, with LaVine and Acuff in the backcourt and Monk / Hunter / Cardwell as the first three off the bench. Monk can run point off the bench – better than Hayes or any cheap bench PGs that you might pick up. Nique and Sharp battle for the 9th chair. TBD backup big gets the 10th chair. Karaban 11th. Loser of Nique/Sharp take on Carter for 12th. Call it a day. Unless Achiuwa is willing to come back on a value / moveable deal, I see little point in signing him to this team at this time. Nothing against him, but if he’s not a serious part of the future, I wouldn’t tie up a lot of capital in him.
Technical foul, Cousins.
I 100% agree with this starting lineup. It’d be way better without Lavine but there’s no getting around that
With you. There does need to be someone on the floor that is willing and able to shoot it a little bit from range, but I’d be fine with juicing Monk’s value if LaVine was gone, moving all of the other SGs up one chair. And while that would be a bit horrific defensively, he really wouldn’t be tangibly worse than LaVine.
I really just want to see A LOT of Acuff next season. He needs to start and get a bunch of minutes and since he’s a scorer, he needs to take a lot of shots. We don’t need Lavine ball hogging.
I’d like to see a lot of Max/Acuff PnR.
Right. We need Acuff ballhogging.
I can totally see this regime give a head nod to the Maloofs and going for another 20-5-5-ish sort of campaign…
Holy Moley! Clifford is a really good defensive player.We need him to start over Lavine. We need a player to backup Acuff and his lack of defense. Nique does that not Lavine.
Yeah, there is not a scenario where a healthy LaVine does not start over Clifford. And I say that as someone that would prefer to see Clifford. It just will not happen, so I’m not going to spend any energy trying to will it into being.
Lavine and Hunter need to play 25 minutes to improve their trade value. We need Carter and Nique to showcase what they have for the whole year, so as to see if they are worth future contracts. I think Cardwell and Max need to play about 20+ minutes each, especially so Cardwell can develop some offensive game around the basket.
Dylan just needs to be at the dunker’s spot majority of the time for putbacks and O-rebs. What he needs to develop is the discipline not to hack and get ticky-tack fouls which takes him out of the game early on.
First of all, the market pretty much knows what their value is (spoiler:
Secondly, limiting them to just 25 minutes will not help their trade value.
Finally, if you do not play to their strengths and have no schemes to diminish their weaknesses, you can play them 48 minutes a game and it won’t help their trade value one bit.
Personally, I’d like to see the FO reach out to MEM and ask about Javon Smalls; he could be an excellent back-up PG to Acuff. He can lead an offense, shoots well (51/42/83 shooting splits), and is a tough POA defender despite his size (6’1″).
I like him much more than Stevens as your 3rd PG. He’s on a two-way contract w/ MEM as 2nd rounder coming off his rookie year so he should be reasonably available and cheap to acquire.
I don’t. Why would you want to start Lavine over Clifford. Nique is your future not Lavine who will if not traded be gone next year. Clifford deserves that shot. Alsom right now you have Karaban backing Hunter and nobody behind Murray. That is why IMO if not to expensive retain Achuiwa. He backs Murray.
Sign Achuiwa and call it a day.
I actually think Lavine out there will take pressure off Acuff to start his career and allow him to ease into being that guy as his rookie season goes a long, the same could be said of Monk.
Yes, less pressure for Acuff to score and maybe more cofidence driving and dishing to Lavine for a three. The pick and roll with Sabonis and the three-point confidence would be great on a smaller volume.
After 3 seasons of nearly 50%, LaVine decided to stop sniping and stop putting in max effort last season because he doesn’t take this team seriously at all. I’d rather Acuff just find his rhythm offensively and if Zach LaVine isn’t hitting Darius just go ahead and not bother giving LaVine the ball. ZL needs to earn that option money this year or find himself another “injury” to keep his ass on the bench and his ugly imprint off this team altogether. Brodie is absolutely foul.
I don’t like it either, but money talks and there are 49 million reasons why LaVine will start over Clifford (any basically anyone else) if healthy.
Add in the fact that LaVine is a Vivek obsession and there is simply no world in which LaVine doesn’t start and get major minutes.
If wishes were fishes and all that…
The path you laid out is probably the best path to take. And honestly those top 8 as the core this season isn’t terrible. And you let those bloated contracts decrease over another year and find yourself in a much better cap position next offseason. And the FA market this offseason is weak anyways.
I’d rather start Niq over LaVine. We need to see what we have in him. He’s a better defender and can be used as a secondary ball handler.
I would, too. But it will never happen. Further, LaVine is the far, far better player at this point. Place both of them at the same age & contract, and it’s LaVine in a landslide. Yes, Clifford is the better defensive player. But his plus on defense does not make up for his overwhelming offensive deficiencies. Pick the stats, raw or advanced, and it’s Lavine, and it ain’t close.
I would like LaVine gone, but as long as he’s here, Clifford is not catching him. Clifford is closer to Carter & Sharp than he is to LaVine.
I like your points here. Especially Monk as the back up PG. Hayes as the 14th man/in case of emergency PG.
I can see something like this
PG: Acuff, Monk (Westbrook if you subscribe to the positive mentor angle for Acuff).
SG: LaVine, —— Monk (if they sign Westbrook), Clifford. [Carter & Sharpe]
SF: Spock, Karaban, (Clifford)
PF: Sabonis, Precious
C: Max, Cardwell
Putting Monk at the back up PG seems best for the team as it stands now (No Westbrook), LaVine and Clifford sharing minutes at SG and the rest remaining the same.
does that get them under the tax after waiving DeRozan?
At the moment, I’m liking the idea of moving Sabonis to PF and letting Max start along side him at Center.
How about
DS Precious
Keegan
Nique and Acuff to start
Carter, LaVine, Monk Max
With that line up and the new No Tank Lottery, this sure sounds like a relegation team to me.
I would like to see The Big Sneeze back. No more Killian Hayes – find a replacement. Have Clifford and #34 (Emanuel Sharp, didn’t realize he is Israeli-American, his Dad Derrick Sharp was an all-time Maccabi Tel Aviv great) share the backcourt with Devin and Malik and … and…. someone else. It will likely be Westbrook (I’d put money on it). I expect Westie to try and grab another team and Sac to be his back up. You end up playing Acuff a lot but he needs someone else.
No more optimism than the Summer for us Kings fans. Once the season starts…
Each year, this team’s season begins and ends with summer league.
All that’s missing is Ray McCallum’s jersey in the rafters.
Ugh, it’s so bleak for this season.
If the Kangz have hitched their Karaban to Darius, then Perry needs to be a Sharp GM and not lose Precious cap space, or else, we will, fall off a Cliff(ord) again.
If he plays his Cardwell he might get the Max out of the opportunity.
This franchise is run by a bunch of Domas’s.
It’s one Saboner after another.
It might get better if we play our Card(s) well.
They appear to be Dari(ng)us to use Devinity and prayer, perhaps with a Monk, a bring a Sharp new focus to their game to see what Kee gan and Kee gan’t do. The power of Christie compels you.
Too many are thinking old fashion cookie cutter lineup. You could play Acuff, Nique, LaVine, Murray and Sabonis or any combination of Sabonis, Max and Murray with both Nique and LaVine. Monk could also spell Acuff with maybe some Carter there also. I would start the season with Acuff, LaVine, Murray, Sabonis and Raynaud. Nique, Monk, Hunter, and Precious (sign him) of the bench. After the Midseason trade deadline, I hope we see Acuff, Nique, Murray, Sabonis, Max with Monk, Sharp, Karaban (who’s he going to guard) and Precious off the bench. That assumes LaVine and Hunter are moved at the deadline. Also, who knows maybe the movement of LaVine and Hunter brings back a serviceable young player who also fits in the scheme,
i agree we should sit tight until the trade deadline and see what opportunities emerge. Next offseason, clear some more payroll, draft well, and maybe sign a free agent. That’s my plan. Don’t make any stupid deals giving up draft capital. I already don’t like the Karaban move but we can live with it.
Moves they ought to look at are for younger guys with upside that may have fallen out of favor with the teams that drafted them.
Pacome Dadiet, Asa Newell, Risacher, etc. See if the price is low and what talent can be pulled from them.
Chasing older guys that are past their prime, or middling players due an extension (looking at you, RJ Barret) is just going to set this franchise back and make the cap sheet worse…again.
Yes, any young, athletic, and lengthy players must be considered in all trades. We only take on crappy filler when we are getting some of these valuable players back.
Agree and let’s hope management understands that. Having said that, LaVine will be starting over Clifford. It would be nice if LaVine and Hunter can be moved sooner than later but realistically a midseason move is most likely and LaVine I would suspect will have some market value at that point assuming he is healthy and has played reasonably well.
Agreed on Karaban– that was not the best player available or even the best fit for the team (if he were 6’8 to 6’10, then I might not be frustrated). Classic Perry and poor GM moves based on intangibles rather than clear skills.
Monk had to move on last year and should see playing time only if we cannot trade him before the season starts. The rest of the lineups make sense and we should not rush a trade for anyone other than Monk and then Lavine (in that order because Lavine’s playing well could increase his value and Monk’s likely won’t budge much).
Who do you think was the BPA and/or the best fit at the 29th pick?
Seems like the Wolves are completely pivoting around ANT. I wonder if they would have interest in Domas.
A Domas for Gobert trade would work and Perry could turn around and flip Gobert if wanted.
Kangz starters:
Acuff
Lavine
Keegan
Max
Gobert
Minny starters:
Melo
Ant
Jaden
Ayo
Domas
Kind of like it for both teams.
Gobert makes $9 million a yr less than Domas which saves the Vivek money. It works in the trade machine for some reason.
We would need a few picks, a few of their young players, and then a plan to get rid of Gobert, as we is majorly on the decline. I think Orlando, Atlanta, and Golden State would be the ideal trade partners in that order.
Minny’s wants a PF to replace the minutes Naz and Randle gave them. How they do that is anyone’s guess.
They aren’t trading Gobert. He is the anchor to an otherwise porous defense. Just need some rotational PF. Joan Berenger will be counted on a bit this season at the 4/5.
Roster still unbalanced, what else is new. The Center spot has 3 solid options which is what every position should be like or close to. Instead we’ve got way too many 2 guards, and the other 3 spots need more pieces.
Is it really that hard to have 3 of each position?
All this talk of what Perry is probably thinking or going to do. I’ll believe it when I see it, so far I see mostly incompetence.
Russ is so useless, wow he plays hard, oh my god! He’s a super inefficient player who can’t play defense, is that what he’s going to teach? Kangz will keep him tho, it’s only right. Trust me, no one else wants him, just retire.
There is one bit of good news, Kangz are setting up for another season of mediocrity which is what Silver is promoting to save the NBA…from ruining gambling. Maybe I was wrong about Russ haha, we need him to be just the right amount of bad.
Yup, this is the objectivity that I look for. We are unbalanced and infatuated with guards. We reached for Karaban because of some intangibles, but did not address the length and athleticism that we need. I thought we once preached defense at all positions, but now it seems like we are more about 3pt shooting from 5+ guards. We will be fighting for the bottom 7 once some of the much needed trades happen.
Karaban went about where he was projected to go. He’s also 6’8 with a 6’11 wingspan. No, he’s not some amazing athlete. He does have the size of an NBA SF.
He probably won’t be a big minute guy, but what else can we expect from the 29th pick in any draft?
Yeah, I agree. I don’t really like the idea of trading up to get a culture/vibes guy, but he’s not short and he can shoot the ball quite well from deep. If he helps the other young developing players off the court more than on the court, then I would still consider it a win for a pick at 29.
Google, Ai, etc says ‘6.75″ barefoot, 225.2 lbs, with a 6’11” wingspan and an 8’8.5″ standing reach. He’s length but not tall, nor athletic and this is the challenge of drafting for fit. If he were a small 4, then that’s not an issue. He’s a small 3 and will struggle shooting over taller guys and certainly guarding them. I sure hope I am wrong (still, it’s an odd pick).
sorry, 6’6.75″
I’m not a fan of the Karaban pick, but I disagree that his physical measurements make him “a small 3”. Koa Peat, the PF taken right after Karaban, was measured at 6’7” barefoot, 6’11.25” wingspan and only 8’8” standing reach.
Isaac is available. Might be worth taking a flyer on on a minimum deal to add size, D and athleticism.
Dude stays injured though.
Issacs is exactly what the Kings need (on the cheap). A rim protector that can could shoot the 3. He could play next to Domas. He just has to stay healthy. I would play Karaban at the 3 and move Keegan at the 2.
PG Acuff
SG Keegan
SF Karaban
PF Issacs
C Domas
I would tell Lavine that he can pick up the option but he will not play this season and I would send him home. Him being anywhere near this roster makes absolutely everything worse. He’s a loser and it still boggles my mind that Vivek didn’t realize how awful this guy is. The shots and dunks look cool but every other thing he does on the court makes his team worse.
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