The Sacramento Kings cut ties with DeMar DeRozan on Monday, waiving the 17-year veteran after failing to find a trade partner. ESPN broke the news, and the move officially opens the door for the 36-year-old to sign anywhere as an unrestricted free agent.
DeRozan was due $25.7 million for the 2026-27 season, the final year of his deal. But only $10 million of that was guaranteed. So by waiving him now, the Kings clear about $15 million in cap space. That matters for a team that’s been trying to reshape its roster around De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.
The writing had been on the wall for a while. As free agency kicked off, reports surfaced that DeRozan’s camp and the Kings were in active conversations about how to move forward. A trade seemed like the cleanest option, but there just wasn’t a market for a 36-year-old swingman making that kind of money. Not with his game trending downward and the league getting younger by the minute.
So the Kings went with the waiver route. It’s not the flashiest way to part ways with a future Hall of Famer, but it gets the job done. DeRozan will now test the market and almost certainly land with a contender that can offer him a role off the bench or as a secondary scorer.
What DeRozan Brings at 36
For all the talk about his age, DeRozan still put up solid numbers last season. In 77 games for Sacramento, he averaged 18.4 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds while shooting nearly 50% from the floor. The three-point shooting was a problem — he hit just 32% from deep — but his mid-range game remains one of the deadliest weapons in the league.
He’s not the guy who carried Toronto to the conference finals anymore. But a contending team looking for a veteran who can get a bucket when the shot clock’s running down? That’s still DeRozan’s sweet spot.
Teams like the Heat, Lakers, and Bucks have been linked to him in the past. Now that he’s available without giving up any assets, expect those rumors to heat up quickly.
For the Kings, this move is about flexibility. They shed salary, open a roster spot, and avoid the awkwardness of having a veteran star who clearly wasn’t in their long-term plans. It’s a clean break, even if it didn’t come through a trade.
DeRozan’s next stop will say a lot about what he’s got left. But if the last 17 years have taught us anything, it’s that he’ll find a way to contribute. The question is where.
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