Struggling with a massive payroll and limited cap space, Sacramento prioritizes financial flexibility over star power by shedding veteran contracts to navigate a difficult, high-stakes rebuilding phase.
The Sacramento Kings have had a mediocre offseason, which isn't surprising given their limited cap space, and they received a "C" grade from the New York Times for their offseason moves.
Jason Jones, a staff writer for The Athletic, highlighted the Kings as one of the worst teams in the NBA with a high payroll. Sacramento had over $200 million in active cap heading into the 2026 offseason, and for a team that tanked for a chance at the No. 1 pick, it's a death sentence.
General manager Scott Perry had a few goals in mind to kickstart the Kings' rebuild: prioritizing youth and increasing financial flexibility. The first move Perry made toward shedding salary this offseason was trading Devin Carter and a 2033 second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks.
Perry salary dumped Carter's remaining $12.5 million he was owed for the next two seasons to get under the luxury tax. Teams that surpass the luxury tax incur financial penalties, and Sacramento was not in a winning position to endure penalties for long.
His next move during the offseason was to waive veteran forward DeMar DeRozan. Waiving the NBA's 16th all-time scorer saved the organization $15 million, getting them further below the luxury tax.
DeRozan was guaranteed $10 million of his $25.7 million salary for next season. He was often the most likely domino of the veteran trio to fall and see his tenure end in Sacramento.
The next course of action for Sacramento is moving on from Domantas Sabonis or Zach LaVine -- the two highest-paid players on the roster. LaVine opted into his $49 million player option, and Sabonis has $94 million owed for the next two seasons.
Sacramento will most likely keep the pairing, as trade options have dried up. Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren met with the Kings to negotiate a sign-and-trade, but the Pistons were uninterested in trading their 22-year-old All-Star and are willing to match any offer sheet that comes his way.
Cleaning up the money books is how Sacramento has spent its offseason, but there are some positives. Perry added three talented rookies to the team: Darius Acuff Jr. (No. 7), Alex Karaban (No. 29) and Emanuel Sharp (No. 45).
Acuff Jr. could become the next franchise-leading guard for the Kings. He had a stellar freshman season for coach John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Dylan Cardwell called his rookie teammate generational, and former Kings star DeMarcus Cousins is excited about his future.
Karaban and Sharpe bring a much-needed winning pedigree to a team that has not won since 2023. Both have made multiple deep NCAA Tournament runs in the last several years.
The 2026 offseason is a rebuilding kick-starter rather than an aggressive pursuit of building a playoff-contending team. It took Monte McNair multiple seasons to build a playoff team as the previous Kings general manager, and it will take Perry a while to do the same.
"Resetting the Kings’ roster for the future is a multi-offseason project," Jones wrote.
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