The Sacramento Kings broke their long playoff drought in 2023, making the postseason for the first time since 2006. Despite falling to the Golden State Warriors in a hard-fought seven-game series in the first round, the team looked poised for a promising future.
However, Sacramento failed to reach the playoffs in both the following season and the current one.
As a result, head coach Mike Brown was dismissed, and All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox was traded to the San Antonio Spurs earlier this season.
As part of the deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, the Kings acquired Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls. LaVine, along with DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis, saw their season end with a home loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 9-10 play-in game.
Now without Fox, Sacramento is in need of a primary ball handler to take charge of the offense — and they’ve emerged as a top contender for a guard who has twice shared the court with NBA legend LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Kings are viewed as a top contender to sign veteran guard Dennis Schroder, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. Schroder spent this past season with the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, and Detroit Pistons.
Taking Stein and Fischer’s report into account, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report projects that the Kings will land Dennis Schroder on a two-year, $28 million contract.
This past season, Schroder appeared in 75 games across stints with the Nets, Warriors, and Pistons, averaging 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per contest. He shot 40.6% from the field, 34.2% from three-point range, and 83.8% from the free-throw line.
Schroder, who will turn 32 this fall, has suited up for a number of teams throughout his NBA career, including the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers (in two separate stints), Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, and Detroit Pistons. Over his career, he has averaged 13.9 points and 4.9 assists per game.