Kings stretch DeMar DeRozan’s salary to drop below luxury tax line

DeMar DeRozan is gone. His salary isn’t quite as gone.

The Kings will use the stretch provision on the remaining $10 million guaranteed portion of DeRozan’s contract, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

That means Sacramento will carry a $3.33 million cap hit in each of the next three seasons, rather than taking the entire $10 million charge in 2026-27. There’s a reason for it.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan noted, stretching DeRozan drops the Kings below the luxury-tax line. Sacramento currently has 13 players on guaranteed contracts and can now fill its final two roster spots with veterans on minimum deals without climbing back into tax territory.

The Kings recently worked out several veteran guards as they consider those possibilities.

DeRozan, meanwhile, landed in Denver on a one-year deal after Sacramento waived him in July. He averaged 18.4 points and 4.1 assists last season.

So DeRozan gets the Nuggets. The Kings get breathing room.

Everybody wins. Well, except Sacramento’s cap sheet, which will still remember DeRozan through 2029.