The Sacramento Kings made the Western Conference a lot more competitive on Saturday night.
The Kings, the Western Conference’s ninth seed (46-36) that lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2024 Play-In Tournament, traded for DeMar DeRozan in what lands them an experienced primary scorer. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Kings also are signing the 34-year-old, six-time all-star to a three-year, $74 million contract. Harrison Barnes is on his way to San Antonio, who were the third team in the deal, while the Chicago Bulls land Chris Duarte, two second-round draft picks, and cash.
DeRozan averaged 24.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds on 48 percent shooting in 79 games last season for the Bulls. He had been with Chicago since 2021 after three seasons in San Antonio. He was drafted of course by the Toronto Raptors in 2009, the tean reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016. He was traded in July of 2018 to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, a deal that ultimately brought a championship to Toronto.
In Sacramento, DeRozan joins fellow all-stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to form a formidable trio. A Fox and DeRozan duo now gives the Kings the top two players in the league in fourth quarter scoring from last season - DeRozan 550 and Fox 538. Fox finished second in the NBA in that same category in 2022-2023, and DeRozan third, according to StatMuse.
The Kings now have an experienced, playoff-tested player to go against the top teams in the conference. Sabonis, with his passing and rebounding, complements Fox and DeRozan well and will not take many shots away from them. His ability to get rebounds and second-chance points will be vital to helping his new teammate.
The move for the Bulls signals a rebuild, which has been a long time coming. The duo of DeRozan and Zach Lavine did not produce at a high enough level, and it was time to change things. The Bulls made it as far as the Play-In the past two seasons, and in 2021-2022 lost in the first round.
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