The Sacramento Kings made their first move ahead of the NBA trade deadline, sending Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis to the Cleveland Cavaliers for De’Andre Hunter as part of a three-team trade. More moves are expected, with recent rumors surfacing about other deals the club has pursued.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Kings approached the Portland Trail Blazers about a potential deal that would send All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan to Portland in exchange for veteran Jrue Holiday. Of note, however, the conversations occurred several weeks ago and nothing ever progressed.
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It would be a peculiar move for Sacramento. Entering play on Sunday, the Kings have the worst record in the NBA and have been signaling for months that they intend to rebuild with a focus on developing a young core. Holiday is only a few months younger than DeRozan, and his skills do not mesh well with a team that seems to be positioning itself for the best NBA Draft lottery odds possible.
The trade would also not help Sacramento financially at a time when ownership seemingly wants to trim payroll. DeRozan is under contract for $24.75 million this season, and only $10 million of his $25.74 million salary for next season is guaranteed.
Holiday is fully guaranteed $34.8 million for the 2026–27 season, and it is a foregone conclusion that he will exercise his $37.2 million player option for 2027–28, when he will be 37 years old. Sacramento would be taking on significantly more money both this season and long term.
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Given those circumstances, it is hard to envision this being a straight-up deal. Portland evidently felt it would have greater success trying to trade Holiday than it would taking on DeRozan and potentially flipping him later. More likely, Sacramento will attempt to trade DeRozan to a team with expiring contracts that can afford to take on his deal in a salary swap.
