How The Kings Stretching DeRozan's Contract Affects 2026-27 Cap Sheet and Beyond

The next domino has officially fallen for the Sacramento Kings, as HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported that they are stretching DeMar DeRozan's contract after waiving him weeks ago.

The Sacramento Kings are stretching DeMar DeRozan’s remaining $10 million salary for the 2026-27 season, league sources told @hoopshype. As a result, DeRozan will be on Sacramento’s books for $3.33 million each of the following three seasons. pic.twitter.com/OAV3dE0Bbe
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 25, 2026

The Kings had time after cutting ties with DeRozan to decide if they were going to pay out the full $10 million this season, or stretch it over the next three. But after today's announcement, we know that DeRozan will now be on their cap sheet for the next three years at $3.3 million per year.

It's a move that saves the Kings money now, while adding to their future, but in the NBA landscape, $3.3 million feels like a drop in the bucket, especially when they have Zach LaVine's $49 million coming off the books next offseason and Domantas Sabonis' $48.6 after the 2027-28 season.

Apr 3, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard Micah Peavy (right) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There was hope that the Kings would be able to find a trade partner for DeRozan and move him completely off their books, or even find another trade to open up more money by moving another player or two, but neither deal ever came to fruition, and Sacramento was forced to stretch DeRozan's over the next few years.

Cap Sheet Result

As a result, the Kings will officially drop below the luxury tax. With DeRozan's $10 million on the books, they were $1.8 million over the luxury tax line, but now they'll give themselves a little bit of wiggle room heading into the home stretch of the offseason.

Kings post DeMar DeRozan

Includes his $10M salary for 2026-27

Sacramento is $1.8M above the luxury tax

They have $3.85M in unlikely bonuses counting against the apron pic.twitter.com/6tIhzFUnRg
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 6, 2026

That's going to be important for the Kings, as they still only have 13 players on their roster. They'll now have space to comfortably add another player or two on minimum deals. Whether it be Cam Payne, Victor Oladipo, or another veteran guard, the space for them is now available.

Meanwhile, DeRozan will be collecting checks from both the Kings and Denver Nuggets. DeRozan isn't getting near his $25 million that he had on the books for next year before the team waived him, but getting a guaranteed $3.3 million from the Kings while not suiting up for them is a decent takeaway.

Future Offseasons

Looking ahead for the Kings, DeRozan's two years at $3.3 million luckily line up with the Kings' younger players in the fact that all of Sacramento's young core will be on their rookie contracts for the next three years. Maxime Raynaud will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2027-28 season, but with both LaVine and Sabonis finishing their contracts by then, that shouldn't be a problem.

DeRozan's time in Sacramento officially comes to an unceremonious end, and while he played well in his two years with the Kings, his time here will likely be seen as a blip in an otherwise Hall of Fame career. Instead of coming in as the third option for De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to help take the team to another level, he's the latest veteran to move on to a new team. Sabonis may still be on the team, but as it currently stands, DeRozan will be the last of the three to get a paycheck from the Kings into the 2028-29 season.

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