Reports: Kings place DeRozan in sign-and-trade; Barnes, Duarte negotiated originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Sacramento Kings have agreed to a signature and negotiation agreement with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs to acquire six times DeMar DeRozan, NBA All-Star forwardESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps reported Saturday, citing sources.
To acquire DeRozan, the Kings will send veteran forward Harrison Barnes and an unprotected 2031 draft pick trade to the Spurs, and forward Chris Duartetwo second-round picks and cash for the Bulls, Wojnarowski first reported.
DeRozan will sign a three-year, $76 million contract with the Kings, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report reported, citing sources. According to Haynes, the first two years of DeRozan’s contract are fully guaranteed and total $59 million, while the third year is partially guaranteed.
Sources: DeMar DeRozan’s New Deal:
– 3 years, US$76 million plus bonuses.
– First two years of $59 million fully guaranteed.
– Third year partially guaranteed.
The deal was negotiated by Aaron Goodwin. https://t.co/UD4OpNAp5k
-Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 7, 2024
Wojnarowski, however, cited sources in reporting that DeRozan’s three-year contract is actually worth $74 million.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported that DeRozan and the Kings were finalizing a contract agreement.
The Kings pursued DeRozan for a whileand they closed the deal the Saturday after the team welcomed the 34-year-old player on G1C. Haynes reported, citing sources, that Kings star De’Aaron Fox “played a key role” in luring DeRozan to Sacramento.
Sources: Sacramento Kings star De’Aaron Fox played a key role in attending today’s meeting to help recruit DeMar DeRozan. The two are ecstatic about their partnership on the court.
-Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 7, 2024
Shortly after news of the sign-and-trade deal broke, DeRozan joined G1C with Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Monte McNair to watch Sacramento’s California Classic game against the Chinese national team. Naturally, Kings fans, who had just seen the reports about the deal, applauded DeRozan as he sat courtside.
The Kings knew they needed to make a big impact this off-season after losing in the Western Conference Play-In tournament last season and missing the playoffs. That came in the form of DeRozan, who averaged 24.0 points last season with the Bulls and has averaged at least 20.1 points per game in each of his last 11 NBA seasons.
DeRozan, who turns 35 next month, could give the Kings a starting lineup consisting of himself, forward Keegan Murray, guards Fox and Malik Monk and center Domantas Sabonis.
As a Monk, who officially signed again on Saturday, thrived in the role of Sixth Man, he indicated that he would like to start games. So if head coach Mike Brown goes in this direction, the Kings will have a formidable starting five that should be able to compete with just about any team in the Western Conference.
They will do so without Barnes and Duarte, two players who have helped them become a force in the West again.
Barnes, 32, joined the Kings in a February 2019 trade from the Dallas Mavericks and averaged 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game over five-plus seasons in Sacramento. He signed a three-year contract worth US$54 million with the Kings before last season, and is owed $18 million next season and $19 million in 2025-26. Now he will bring another veteran presence to a Spurs team that also added Chris Paul this offseason to mentor young phenom Victor Wembanyama.
Duarte, 27, spent one season with the Kings after being acquired from the Indiana Pacers in an offseason trade last year for two second-round picks. He played 59 games, starting 11, and averaged just 3.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 rebounds in 12.2 minutes per contest.
