Coming into the weekend after Fourth of July, it seemed like the wick was burning on some fireworks regarding the Sacramento Kings and star wing DeMar DeRozan. On Saturday night, the fuse burned out and we saw it come to fruition as the Kings have acquired the 34-year-old six-time All-Star in a sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls.
ESPN insiders Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps reported on Saturday that the Kings and Bulls had brought in the San Antonio Spurs for a three-team sign-and-trade with DeRozan heading to Sacramento — incidentally in a deal with two teams that have now previously employed the veteran’s services.
It’s the move that the Kings had been looking for and one that could pay dividends. But let’s break down everything you need to know about the trade, starting with the details but then assessing the deal for all three teams involved.
Here’s a look at the full trade that’s been reported between the Kings, Bulls and Spurs.
After the trade, the Kings have now landed DeRozan on a three-year, $74 million contract, the end goal of this trade all along. But how did all three teams make out in this deal? We’re dusting off the rubric and grading each organization on what they did in this deal and the overall circumstances as well.
Make no mistake, DeRozan is no longer the player who can be the top option on a title contender. But that’s not what the Kings were searching for, nor is that what they ultimately paid for in this deal both in the trade and in signing the contract.
DeRozan as a secondary option in the offense after averaging 24.0 points per game on 48% shooting this past year is a great compliment to work with Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox among the other role players in Sacramento. One of the biggest issues for the Kings in the past couple of years has been the variance in their performance. The addition of DeRozan substantially raises that floor and makes them a much surer bet in the Western Conference moving forward.
I’m not going to fail a team for actually getting something in a sign-and-trade when, at least in theory, there was a chance that he DeRozan could be lost and the Bulls would get nothing. Having said that, there’s no world in which Chicago comes out of this with any kind of optimism about the move itself and the decision-making that ultimately led to this point.
For the trade in a vacuum, it’s disheartening to see this return to the Bulls. Duarte isn’t a player who necessarily fits the youth movement that is now in full effect with Chicago, even if he’s still a valuable role player in the league. That plus a pair of second-round picks and cash feels very much like a “take what we can get” situation.
But what makes this even worse is that the Bulls front office put itself in this position. Chicago was never going to contend this past season, yet stubbornly held onto DeRozan (and Zach LaVine) through the trade deadline. This paltry return is a direct result of that misguided decision, and it could set the Bulls back even further.
It feels like at least once an offseason, you just have to tip your cap to the Spurs. This feels like this year’s edition of that — or at least another after already adding Chris Paul. Harrison Barnes can be a highly useful wing player with versatility to work off of Victor Wembanyama and even CP3. Moreover, his versatility and game feel like something that Gregg Popovich will love to make use of routinely.
Just getting Barnes would’ve been a good deal but also getting a future unprotected pick swap makes this even more enticing for San Antonio.
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