DeRozan, Kings face uncertainty amid season-worst streak, looming trade deadline
DeMar DeRozan doesn’t know what awaits. His name remains in trade rumors ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, but he’s still trying to get buckets for the Sacramento Kings despite the team having the worst record in the NBA.
To wit, DeRozan scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 116-112 loss to the Washington Wizards, a match up between two of the league’s worst teams. Sacramento fell to 12-40 while the nine-game losing streak is its longest of the season.
The Kings went 0-6 on their longest road trip of the year through the frigid East Coast during an arctic blast. They’ll return to 60-degree temperatures in Sacramento and host the Memphis Grizzlies at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday.
DeRozan finished with 32 points while Zach LaVine poured in 35, though he shot just 1 of 5 in the fourth quarter, while the Kings surrendered a 109-105 lead with 3:05 remaining. DeRozan made 7 of 10 in the final frame.
“Just come out aggressive. I knew that quarter was important. We kept getting it within five, a couple possessions, I just want to come out aggressive, set the tone,” DeRozan said.
Setting the tone could take a different form if DeRozan remains with the team beyond Thursday’s deadline, and isn’t bought out to join a more competitive team in the second half of the season. The Kings, without Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis after Saturday’s trade for De’Andre Hunter, tapped two-way players Daequon Plowden (24 minutes) and Isaiah Stevens (19 minutes) to fill their spots in the rotation.
Rookie Nique Clifford started at point guard in place of Russell Westbrook, who missed his third straight game with a foot injury. Sacramento has not provided an update on the severity of Westbrook’s injury or a timeframe for his return. Clifford had 6 points in nearly 29 points, taking just 3 shots.
It could be that young players like Clifford, Plowden and Stevens see more playing time throughout the second season if and when the Kings fully lean into developing their young players. On Sunday, Stevens played the entire fourth quarter while Plowden played 9:54 in the frame.
Which leaves the question for DeRozan: does he have an appetite to go through a scenario where developing young players takes precedent over being competitive?
“As long as I got an opportunity to put on a jersey, I’m gonna take advantage of it, whatever way I can,” DeRozan said. “If it’s helping guys, giving the knowledge that I have, at the end of the day, I want what’s best for these guys, whether they’re young, older, whatever it may be. Whatever it is, I’ll figure it out as it goes.”
The Kings played like a team exhausted by their circumstances. The Schroder and Ellis trade came down late Saturday night, the 10th and final night of the road trip. The losing hasn’t helped, nor has the chatter surrounding the trade deadline with DeRozan, LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk all being heavily featured in trade rumors.
“You’d be remiss to think that those type of things affect you a little bit,” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “It can bring your energy up or down. And that’s where, as I told them, we have to hold each other and help each other in those moments.”
DeRozan is optimistic about what Hunter can bring, though he seemed saddened to lose his teammates. Hunter is expected to join the team in Sacramento and could make his debut Wednesday against Memphis.
“It always sucks to see people you go to battle with every single day,” DeRozan said. “I wish those guys nothing but the best. It’s part of our league, it’s part of business. Me being in it this long, I see it countless times. I’ve been traded, even though it was in the offseason. It’s just part of the game.”
Sabonis’ injury status leads to online speculation
Sabonis was a late scratch with lower back soreness roughly an hour before the game. He was expecting to play after not playing Friday to manage the injury to his left knee.
He was seen walking gingerly in the locker room before the game, and with a heating wrap on his lower back afterward. Sabonis wasn’t on the bench during the game in order to get treatment.
With all the trade rumors, being a late scratch and not being on the bench led to online speculation that Sabonis may be part of a looming trade.
“I’m not 100% sure what it was,” Christie said of the injury. “I was notified (the same time as everyone else).”
Without Sabonis, Maxime Raynaud got the start and scored 14 points in 27 minutes. Dylan Cardwell added 3 blocks, 5 points and 2 rebounds.
This story was originally published February 1, 2026 at 6:59 PM.
