Zach LaVine Picks Up $49 Million Player Option

As the offseason truly begins, a big domino in Sacramento’s offseason has fallen. In what should not surprise anyone, Zach LaVine has reportedly picked up his $49M player option for the 2026-27 season, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. This was the last day for LaVine to make his decision on next season.

How Did We Get Here?

LaVine, a two-time All-Star, was a key part of the return in the seismic three-team trade with the Kings, Chicago Bulls, and San Antonio Spurs back at the 2025 deadline. The former Bull is a career 20 PPG scorer and one of the better shooters in the league right now, a career 39% shooter on 6 3PA/game. The talent is undeniable.

Zach LaVine is one of the best shooters in the league pic.twitter.com/g2WTHiBoo2
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) August 3, 2025

Unfortunately, that talent has not translated to winning. The 12-year veteran has played in just one playoff series, a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022.

There was hope that LaVine would decline the option and re-sign for several more years at a lower AAV. It had also been reported that Sacramento gave LaVine the opportunity to “sell himself around the league” in hopes that there would be interest in a sign-and-trade.

In that scenario, LaVine would agree to terms with that new team (almost certainly for a longer deal at a lower AAV), Sacramento would sign him to that contract, and trade him to that new team in exchange for other pieces - namely expiring salary or younger players.

Sacramento was on the receiving end of a sign-and-trade last summer. They sent menial draft compensation to Detroit to acquire Dennis Schroder. The CBA requires that contracts signed via S&Ts be three seasons, but only the first year needs to be guaranteed. So, LaVine’s new contract would need to run for at least three seasons, which could be why this did not materialize.

Though he is relatively far removed from his checkered injury history, it could still have been enough for teams to hesitate at committing money for more than two seasons. Alternatively, teams simply might not have wanted to pay him the value he was asking for.

Feb 1, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) looks on during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

There are scenarios where LaVine is able to recoup the $49M if he were to decline and opt for more reasonable values over the next 3 seasons. That is certainly what the Kings have tried to sell him, at least. However, turning down that much money right now is a tough sell for anyone in just about any scenario. Players have a finite window to maximize their earnings, and punting that much guaranteed money (as Trae Young did last week) would have been an incredibly bold decision.

Now, LaVine will make nearly $50 million dollars this season before hitting unrestricted free agency next summer.

How Does This Affect Sacramento’s Offseason?

This was a key variable in the Kings’ summer plans. The Kings now enter the 2026-27 season with $174M committed to LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, De’Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray, and Malik Monk this coming season ($189M if you fully guarantee DeRozan’s salary).

The salary cap is $165M, the luxury tax threshold is $201M, the first apron is $209M, and the second apron is $222M, for those interested. Sacramento’s projected cap sheet is below, with Precious Achiuwa returning on a minimum and Emanuel Sharp signed to a two-way contract.

Sacramento Kings salary cap sheet | James McCauley

Yes, that is the second apron red there. Not great. An extension along the lines of CJ McCollum’s would have helped the situation and reset LaVine’s value. There was a world where LaVine saw a 3/~$100M contract and thought that made sense. As mentioned earlier, though, he opted for the larger money right now and will figure his future out next summer.

Scott Perry and the front office were dealt a pretty rough hand here, and now they will need to dig themselves out of another compromised position. There are ways to do this, and this is a big variable in determining which path is best for the team’s long-term future.

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