Sacramento Kings offseason analysis: Salary cap, draft, trades, free agency
Scott Perry took only 24 hours in his new role as general manager of the Sacramento Kings to acknowledge the team’s need to add length, athleticism and a point guard.
Perry will look to address those needs this summer through the NBA draft, trades and free agency. The Kings don’t have a first-round pick and are not projected to have salary cap space, so Perry will have to utilize the draft capital, trade assets and other spending tools he has at his disposal.
In his first two weeks on the job, Perry hired B.J. Armstrong as assistant general manager, signed interim head coach Doug Christie to a multiyear contract and brought in Mike Woodson as Christie’s lead assistant. In addition, a league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings will retain vice president of player personnel Phil Jabour, vice president of player development Paul Johnson and vice president of basketball engagement Alvin Gentry.
The Kings must choose whether to rebuild or retool their roster after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. During his introductory news conference, Perry said he and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive have a “shared vision” to “build a platform that is going to offer sustainable success in winning for this organization that this community richly deserves.”
Perry’s words were open to interpretation, but massive roster reconstruction and a major rebuild seem unlikely at this point. A source told The Bee in March there was no support within the organization for a full-scale rebuild. That thinking had not changed even after the Kings made the franchise-changing decision to trade De’Aaron Fox.
Perry could have come to Sacramento with other ideas, but NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported the Kings “do not intend to initiate an offseason teardown.” That suggests they will keep much of their core intact while looking to make a move or two to solidify themselves as playoff contenders after losing in the play-in tournament the past two seasons.
The Kings went 40-42 to finish ninth in the Western Conference this season. They were 27-24 under Christie over the final 51 games despite dealing with significant roster changes and injuries.
Contracts and salary cap
Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis, Jonas Valanciunas, Devin Carter and Terence Davis are all under contract for next season with $163.7 million in total salary.
The Kings have team options on Keon Ellis ($2.3 million) and Isaac Jones ($1.95 million). Trey Lyles, Jake LaRavia, Doug McDermott and Jae Crowder will be unrestricted free agents. Markelle Fultz, Isaiah Crawford and Mason Jones will be restricted free agents.
Size, length, athleticism and defense have been glaring weaknesses in Sacramento. The Kings upgraded their talent with the addition of DeRozan last summer, but putting him at the small forward spot while moving Murray to power forward did not make them bigger, longer or better defensively.
The Kings fired coach Mike Brown after going 13-18 to start the season. They later traded Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in the deal that brought LaVine to Sacramento. They are likely to make additional changes after hiring Perry to replace former general manager Monte McNair.
The Kings are already well over the projected $154.6 million salary cap. They will have to be mindful of the luxury tax threshold, which is expected to be $187.9 million, and the first apron, which is projected at $195.9 million.
Draft capital and spending tools
Sacramento will send the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft to the Atlanta Hawks to complete the 2022 trade for Kevin Huerter, but the Kings will have the 42nd overall pick in Round 2. Going forward, the draft cupboard is full for the Kings, who recently came in at No. 8 on ESPN’s list of the NBA’s best draft asset rankings.
Over the next seven years, the Kings have all of their own first-round picks along with unprotected first-round picks from the San Antonio Spurs (2027) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2031). They also have four second-round picks, two in 2026 and two in 2027.
In addition, Sacramento is expected to have the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, the $4.67 million bi-annual exception and several trade exceptions, including a $16.8 million exception from the deal that sent Huerter to the Chicago Bulls as part of the Fox trade.
Trade assets
Those could be useful tools, but trading DeRozan might be the most viable path to acquire the kind of player who can make the Kings a serious playoff contender in the West.
DeRozan has two years and $50.5 million remaining on the three-year contract he signed with Sacramento last summer. He is owed $24.8 million next season and $25.7 million in 2026-27.
The Kings could also consider trading Sabonis, who will make $43.6 million next season in the second year of a four-year, $186 million contract.
One way or another, the Kings will try to bring in a starting caliber point guard while looking to upgrade their length and athleticism on the wing.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
