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For all of the NBA teams that are unable to land Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade this summer, the Sacramento Kings could potentially work out a deal to move one of their veteran wings.
“The Kings’ DeMar DeRozan is another former All-Star who is widely perceived to be available via trade and who could emerge as a fallback trade target for teams that miss out on Durant,” wrote NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
Kings Could Trade DeMar DeRozan For First-Round Draft Pick
Per Marc Stein and Fischer, the Kings have privately “expressed confidence” to agents that they could be picking as high in the early 20s in next week’s 2025 NBA draft.
Since Sacramento does not currently own a first-round pick, this means the team could likely trade for one. DeRozan would be the perfect trade bait to entice teams to pull the trigger on a deal.
DeRozan, who turns 36 in August, is set to enter the second season of his three-year, $73.89 million contract. The three-time All-NBA member is slated to earn $24.75 million in 2025-26 and $25.74 million in 2026-27.
In 77 games (all starts) in his first season with the Kings, he averaged 22.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 35.9 minutes per contest while shooting 47.7% from the field and 32.8% from 3-point territory.
Kevin Durant Prefers To Play For Spurs
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Saturday night that Durant’s preferred trade destinations are the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs.
Charania reported that the Phoenix Suns have “made clear to the six to eight seriously interested teams that they will make the best deal for the franchise, even if it means trading Durant to a team outside his preferred list, sources said.”
Earlier this week, Durant revealed that he prefers a trade to San Antonio over other teams like Miami and Houston, per The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski.
Timberwolves, Knicks Expressed Interest In Durant
Two other teams that inquired about Durant are the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks.
The Knicks, however, are reportedly no longer in the mix for the 17-year veteran, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Post said the Knicks “will not be dealing for the future Hall of Famer.”
Although Minnesota was also mentioned as one of the five teams that wants Durant, the 15-time All-Star has “no desire” to play for the Wolves, according to Charania.
Despite the report, the Suns “are still hopeful that Durant might warm [up] to the Timberwolves,” per Amick and Krawczynski. Unlike fellow teammate Bradley Beal, Durant does not have a no-trade clause in his contract.
Kings Will Soon Own All Their Future First-Round Draft Picks
In addition, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst also reported this past weekend that the Clippers are a “team to monitor” in the Durant sweepstakes since they “have the contracts to make another move to augment” their roster around Kawhi Leonard and potentially James Harden.
If the Clippers are unable to land Durant, maybe DeRozan would be on their radar.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, starting in 2026, the Kings will own all of their future first-round draft picks. From the De’Aaron Fox trade, Sacramento also has a 2027 unprotected first from San Antonio and a 2031 unprotected first from Minnesota.
The Spurs have first-round swap rights with the Kings in 2031. Sacramento has two tradable seconds as well.
