Kings: cap space and options
Reporting says the Kings have about $20 million projected over the luxury tax line next season and that GM Scott Perry prefers to avoid paying the tax until the roster is a clear contender (yardbarker.com). Sports Illustrated also flags that eight current Kings could hit free agency, leaving the summer focused on draft capital, cap flexibility and trades as paths forward (si.com).
Sacramento’s offseason starts with a payroll problem: the Kings are projected above the 2026-27 luxury tax line, with little room to add talent without cutting salary first. (si.com) Sports Illustrated reported this week that Domantas Sabonis is owed about $45.5 million next season and Zach LaVine is expected to exercise a player option worth about $49 million. Those two contracts alone account for roughly $94.5 million against a projected $201 million tax line. (si.com) The same report said Sacramento is projected to have about $225 million committed for next season, which would place the club over the second apron. Spotrac’s current 2026-27 tax table lists the Kings at about $205.2 million in tax payroll, or roughly $4.2 million over the tax threshold, showing how quickly that number can move as options and roster charges are finalized. (si.com) (spotrac.com) That leaves Scott Perry and the front office choosing between trimming the roster and paying tax on a team that finished 22-60 in 2025-26. Spotrac’s offseason preview said Sacramento projects around the first apron and called cap cleanup a primary goal for a roster that missed the postseason after three straight years of postseason play. (si.com) (spotrac.com) The Kings also have turnover risk beyond the top of the payroll sheet. Spotrac listed eight potential free agents, including Precious Achiuwa, Drew Eubanks, Doug McDermott, Russell Westbrook and Killian Hayes, whose deal is listed with a team option. (spotrac.com) One immediate pressure point is DeMar DeRozan’s contract. Sports Illustrated reported that his $25.7 million deal for 2026-27 carries only $10 million guaranteed, which means waiving or trading him could become one of Sacramento’s clearest cost-cutting paths. (si.com) The draft gives Sacramento one of its few cheap ways to add players. RealGM’s draft ledger shows the Kings control their own 2026 first-round pick, their own 2026 second-round pick and a second-rounder from Charlotte, while also holding a protected 2027 first from San Antonio. (realgm.com) That pick inventory is useful because Sacramento still owes future seconds and has a 2031 first-round swap owed to San Antonio. The Kings have enough assets to make calls, but not the kind of clean cap sheet that lets them shop freely in July. (realgm.com) (spotrac.com) The offseason, then, looks less like a free-agency splash and more like a sorting exercise around Sabonis, LaVine, DeRozan, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray. Sacramento can keep paying for this roster, or it can use the summer to lower the bill and reshape the team before training camp. (si.com) (spotrac.com)
