The Sacramento Kings want to get back to the team that took the NBA by storm two years ago, which is a big reason why they made the three-team trade with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs for veteran wing DeMar DeRozan.
"The Kings were the one team with real interest (in DeRozan) beyond their mid-level exception," ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter. "So they were pretty persistent in the last week of trying to get Chicago engaged in this sign-and-trade.
"Listen, when you trade for DeMar DeRozan, especially as he's about to turn 35, you are trading for offense. He can still score the ball. We have certainly seen his defense (slip) as he's gotten older, but this is still a 24- or 25-point a game scorer.
"The Kings look at the West, they see other teams improving — and they moved out Harrison Barnes, who played a significant role in getting this team back into the postseason. But they still believe DeRozan has some good basketball left and now he'll take center stage with De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis. This is a team that wants to get out of the play-in and back into the playoffs."
The Kings are sending Barnes to the Spurs as part of the deal, and shooting guard Chris Duarte and two second-round draft picks and cash to the Bulls.
One of the best scorers in the NBA, DeRozan appeared in 79 games for the Bulls in 2023-24. The USC product averaged 24.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 48.0% from the floor, 33.3% from beyond the arc and 85.3% from the free-throw line.
DeRozan signed a three-year, $85 million contract with the Bulls in August 2021 as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Spurs.
"DeRozan traveled to Sacramento on Saturday to meet with team officials and Kings coach Mike Brown, who signed an offseason contract extension," Wojnarowski wrote. "Brown led the franchise to back-to-back winnings seasons for the first time since 2006."
(This post originally appeared on Hoops Wire and was republished with permission.)
