With the Scott Perry and Doug Christie era now fully underway in Sacramento, attention turns to the crucial 2025 offseason.
This stretch will be pivotal for the Kings, who are coming off a frustrating season that exposed major weaknesses in their roster. It’s evident that the team needs to part ways with either of two key stars—and according to Eric Sperlazza of Sports Illustrated, there’s a potential plan in place for dealing veteran satr.
In a recent piece for Sports Illustrated’s Sacramento Kings section, Eric Sperlazza proposes a sign-and-trade scenario in which the Pistons re-sign Dennis Schroder and then promptly trade him, along with Simone Fontecchio, to the Kings in exchange for top playmaker.
If this trade went through — key star to the Pistons in exchange for Dennis Schroder and Simone Fontecchio via sign-and-trade — here’s how it could impact both teams:
Sacramento Kings
Earlier, we mentioned the Kings’ flawed roster — specifically, that they’re overloaded with on-ball scorers like DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Malik Monk, but lack key elements such as ball movement, size, outside shooting, and reliable defense.
By acquiring Dennis Schroder, Sacramento would gain a true point guard known for his on-ball defense. While his 12-year career has had highs and lows, he’s coming off a solid playoff performance against the Knicks, where he posted 12.5 points and 3.7 assists per game on an efficient 62.5% true shooting — all while holding his own defensively against elite scorer Jalen Brunson.
Simone Fontecchio, on the other hand, is quietly emerging as one of the more underrated three-and-D wings in the league. At 6’8″, he brings much-needed size, ranked in the 75th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus last season, and shoots 36.3% from deep for his career. Despite those strengths, he mysteriously fell out of coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s playoff rotation — making him a strong buy-low candidate for the Kings.
While it would be ideal to get some draft assets in a deal, DeRozan’s age and fit limitations likely cap his trade value. In that light, a re-tooling move that avoids taking back bad contracts may be as good an outcome as Sacramento can realistically hope for.
Detroit Pistons
Now that the Pistons have established themselves as a competitive team, their next priority should be finding a secondary playmaker to ease the offensive burden on Cade Cunningham. This trade accomplishes that without costing them much — Schroder could leave in free agency anyway, and Fontecchio wasn’t a key part of J.B. Bickerstaff’s playoff rotation.
The challenge, however, is that DeMar DeRozan isn’t an ideal complementary piece for Cunningham. While he remains a highly productive scorer — averaging 22.2 points per game in his age-35 season, his 12th consecutive year hitting the 20-point mark — and is on a reasonable two-year contract, his limitations raise questions.
DeRozan struggles playing off the ball and isn’t a reliable 3-point shooter, which has historically made it difficult for him to mesh with other high-usage guards. Additionally, his defense doesn’t align with the Pistons’ growing identity on that end of the floor. While he does raise their floor, the overall impact might be minimal.