One of the largest stars left in 2024 NBA free agency has just come off the free agent list. With James Harden, Jonas Valanciunas, Paul George, and Klay Thompson finding homes, all eyes were turned toward one player. However, news recently broke that DeMar DeRozan is headed to the Sacramento Kings.
ESPN Sources with @TimBontemps: The Sacramento Kings are agreed on a sign-and-trade that will land DeMar DeRozan on a three-year deal, send Harrison Barnes to the San Antonio Spurs and Chris Duarte, two second-round picks and cash to the Chicago Bulls. pic.twitter.com/eopPkSPBvc
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2024
Bulls Star Lands with Sacramento Kings Through Sign-and-Trade
The Deal
This sign-and-trade seems like a win-win for everybody involved. DeRozan, a Compton native, gets to head closer to home. He also gets to join Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, and a young team fighting to compete in a loaded Western Conference. The Kings signed DeRozan for three years and $74 million; in exchange, the Bulls received Chris Duarte, two second-round picks, and cash. The San Antonio Spurs also got in on this deal by receiving Harrison Barnes and a 2031 unprotected pick swap from the Kings.
DeRozan’s Fit On the Kings
From a competitive standpoint, this trade works beautifully. The Kings have a competitive-ish playoff team but appear to be one piece away from making serious noise in the Western Conference. After all, the heavyweights of the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Oklahoma City Thunder with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, and the Minnesota Timberwolves with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert are planning on making plenty of noise in the playoffs. Sacramento made it to the first round in the 2022-23 season, ending a 16-year playoff drought. However, while they put up a good fight against the Golden State Warriors, they lost the series. This past season, they just missed out on making the playoffs. With two All-Star level players already on the roster, DeRozan is the third star the team has been missing.
However, this move will be a change from an actual basketball perspective. DeRozan isn’t exactly a player who stretches the floor with three-point shooting. On the contrary, he’s known for his efficiency in the mid-range. Sabonis can shoot long-range shots, but he spends a lot of time in the paint. Fox is starting to get his three-point shooting up, which will help the team. Still, DeRozan shoots 17 shots per game. On average, only two of those shots come from behind the three-point line. However, once the Kings work through their initial spacing woes, this team could be a force to be reckoned with.
The Last Word
Now, the Bulls can begin the rebuild they should have started a few years ago. The only thing left for them to do is trade Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic and hand the reigns of the team over to Matas Buzelis.
