Latest On DeMar DeRozan’s Free Agency
The Pistons are weighing the prospect of pursuing forward DeMar DeRozan in free agency, league sources tell Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
The Pistons haven’t been actively pushing to sign DeRozan to this point, Stein cautions. The team may need to resolve Jalen Duren‘s restricted free agency in order to get a better sense of its remaining spending flexibility below the tax and first-apron thresholds. There’s also a bit of a roster crunch happening in Detroit, where the club has 15 players on standard contracts even before bringing back Duren.
Still, despite adding shooting this offseason by trading for Isaiah Joe and Taurean Prince and signing John Collins in free agency, the Pistons could still use more secondary scoring and shot creation to take some pressure off star point guard Cade Cunningham, as Stein points out. Few remaining free agents are better equipped than DeRozan – the NBA’s 16th all-time leading scorer – to help in that regard.
Stein also suggests the Raptors are a “confirmed bidder” for DeRozan, though local reporters in Toronto have repeatedly cast doubt on the possibility of a reunion between the 17-year veteran and his first NBA team.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet has expressed multiple times that he views an agreement between the Raptors and DeRozan as unlikely, while Doug Smith of The Toronto Star (subscription required) reiterated earlier this week that there are plenty of potential roadblocks, including Toronto’s cap/roster restrictions and the modest role the team could offer.
However, Smith did cite a source who said DeRozan would welcome a return to Toronto “if everything works out” and added that the two sides have been in contact. Smith also stated that the former USC star has been “linked” to the Lakers, Heat, Warriors, and Trail Blazers, though it’s unclear whether all of those teams have registered legitimate interest in the 36-year-old or whether they’re simply viewed by outsiders as logical landing spots.
According to Stein, a “more complete picture” of the teams in the mix for DeRozan will likely emerge after LeBron James decides on his next team, since a few of the same clubs pursuing James may shift their focus to DeRozan if they miss out on LeBron.
Heat Have ‘Strong Interest’ In Mavericks’ Klay Thompson
The Heat have “strong interest” in Mavericks guard/forward Klay Thompson, Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald report.
According to Jackson and Chiang, Miami is interesting in adding Thompson to its roster irrespective of whether or not LeBron James decides to return for a second stint with the Heat.
As Jackson and Chiang detail, the Heat are looking to add another wing shooter and scorer with size after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Listed at 6’5″ and 220 pounds, Thompson is one of the most prolific — and accurate — three-point shooters in NBA history, ranking fourth on the all-time made threes list.
The 36-year-old appeared in 69 games last season for Dallas, averaging career lows of 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 21.7 minutes per contest. While the four-time champion’s three-point percentage (38.3%) was well above the league average (36.0%), it represented a career low for Thompson, who also posted career-worst marks on twos (41.8%) and from the field (39.3%).
Thompson ending up in Miami is far from a fait accompli, per Jackson and Chiang. The former lottery pick (11th overall in 2011) is owed about $17.5MM next season on an expiring deal, and unless he’s willing to give up some of that money in buyout with the Mavs, the Heat may not be able to acquire him.
Marc Stein reported about a month ago that Dallas was open to trading Thompson and reiterated last week that the team would rather deal him than negotiate a buyout, according to The Miami Herald.
“To this point as much has been relayed to me is the Mavs’ preference would be a trade,” Stein said. “I think it’s still early enough in the summer that if you’re the Mavs you would exhaust those options first.”
While sending Nikola Jovic to Dallas for Thompson would satisfy salary-matching requirements, the Mavs probably aren’t eager to take on the $62.4MM the Serbian forward is owed over the next four years, Jackson and Chiang note, especially since he’s coming off a down season.
Here are a few more Heat-related rumors from Jackson and Chiang:
- Although the Heat had a “preliminary discussion” with Bradley Beal‘s agent, they haven’t been actively trying to sign the veteran guard, according to Jackson and Chiang. Beal, who was limited to just six games played in 2025/26 due to a hip injury, remains an unrestricted free agent after declining his $5.6MM player option at the end of June.
- Jackson and Chiang suggest multiple teams pursuing James view DeMar DeRozan as a potential plan B, and write that if the 41-year-old joins another team, there’s a “real possibility” the Heat could sign DeRozan, a six-time All-Star who was recently waived by Sacramento.
- Following up on a report from Stefan Bondy of The New York Post indicating Russell Westbrook is a candidate to sign with the Heat if they miss out on LeBron, Jackson and Chiang say that can’t be ruled out but add that Miami hasn’t been “aggressively pursuing” the nine-time All-Star point guard.
Raptors Notes: Kawhi Trade, DeRozan, Valanciunas, CMB
Barring a direct punishment of Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, which isn’t considered any more likely now that the trade has been put on hold until the Aspiration investigation concludes, the terms of the blockbuster deal that will send the two-time Finals MVP back to the Raptors aren’t expected to be altered, according to Sam Amick, Eric Koreen and Law Murray of The Athletic.
As Amick, Koreen and Murray detail, the NBA warned Toronto that the ongoing investigation could cause issues with the trade when it was agreed upon in principle on June 30. That point was reiterated when the two teams scheduled a call with the league office to finalize the deal, which is why the Raptors decided to pause the trade for now until the investigation is complete.
Some people around the NBA believed commissioner Adam Silver might announced the results of the investigation on Tuesday at a Board of Governors meeting, per The Athletic, but a league spokesperson seemed to put a damper on that optimism when they said the law firm’s were expected to be finalized “in the coming weeks.”
According to Amick, Koreen and Murray, many league observers have been “bewildered” at the length of the investigation, which began last September after a series of podcasts from investigative journalist Pablo Torre alleged the Clippers and Leonard circumvented the salary cap to pay Leonard through a no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration, a now-defunct “green banking” company.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Leonard was in Toronto earlier this week when Kyle Lowry signed his ceremonial one-day contract to retire a Raptor and has already passed his physical, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Get Up (Twitter video link). The 35-year-old star, who’s in the final year of his contract, has also begun extension talks with the Raptors, Windhorst added.
- The trade delay gives the Raptors some time to explore the possibility of expanding the deal to include a third team, observes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The goal in that scenario, Grange explains, would be to send out another contract to a third club so Toronto isn’t taking back more salary than it’s sending out — the current structure would see the team hard-capped at the first tax apron. A potential third team’s inclusion would have no bearing on the main deal between the Clippers and Raptors, according to Grange’s sources.
- Grange reiterates Toronto is unlikely to pursue ex-Raptors DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas in part because of the team’s financial situation. Assuming the trade goes through as is, the Raptors wouldn’t have room under the first apron to sign a player to a veteran’s minimum contract, Grange notes.
- In another story for Sportsnet.ca, Grange takes a look at the Raptors’ offseason development plan for 2025 lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles. The team is hoping to see the 2025/26 All-Rookie selection expand his game during Summer League, though he was out for Friday’s opener due to a finger sprain, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet. Second-year guard Alijah Martin was also sidelined because of knee inflammation.
Kings Notes: DeRozan, LaVine, Sabonis, Westbrook, Achiuwa
Waiving DeMar DeRozan was a smart financial move, but that didn’t make it any easier for the Kings to let him go, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (subscription required). General manager Scott Perry addressed that decision and several other topics during a press conference on Wednesday, calling DeRozan “one of my favorite players to work with.”
“I’ve worked with some great players, some Hall of Fame players, in my career,” Perry said. “His professionalism, his leadership, the way he went about preparing for his job each and every day was exemplary, and how he poured into our young players last year was very important and very much appreciated.”
DeRozan only had a $10MM guarantee on his $25.74MM salary for the upcoming season, and the team can create even more immediate cap savings by using the stretch provision to spread that $10MM across the next three years. That would reduce his cap charge for 2026/27 by over $22MM, taking the Kings out of apron territory and below the luxury tax line.
While the benefits of parting ways with DeRozan were obvious, Perry told reporters that he searched for other alternatives to reduce payroll.
“We were trying to figure out ways we could keep him, but as we all know there is a financial component to this job,” Perry said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to figure out anything that would allow us to keep him, but I’m going to miss him. I’ll be honest with you.”
There’s more on the Kings, all from Anderson:
- Perry is focused on the upcoming season with Zach LaVine, who will reportedly exercise his $49MM player option. LaVine has been the subject of trade speculation, but Perry hasn’t heard any offers that he likes. “Zach and I have been in communication since the season has been over,” Perry said. “… Zach is still an excellent basketball player. He knows what’s expected of him coming back here this year. I’m very clear with him on that. He’ll be the first to tell you that, and I think he’s ready to come back, embrace that and perform to the best of his abilities this year.”
- Perry sounded a similar tone regarding Domantas Sabonis, who has also been the subject of trade rumors involving several teams. The three-time All-Star will be trying to bounce back after injuries limited him to 19 games last season. “Obviously, he missed a lot of last year, but he’s always played hard,” Perry said. “I expect him to do that, provide some veteran presence for this team, really have a tremendous rebounding year and help us build some winning habits.”
- Reporters brought up the possibility of re-signing Russell Westbrook to serve as a mentor to first-round pick Darius Acuff Jr. Perry said Westbrook “has always been a favorite of mine,” but added that the Kings currently can’t offer more than the veteran’s minimum deal that he played on last season. Sacramento technically holds Westbrook’s Non-Bird rights, allowing the team to go 20% above his minimum, but it sounds like non-minimum deals for any free agent are unlikely as long as the team is flirting with the luxury tax line and first-apron hard cap.
- Perry is happy that Sacramento was able to keep Precious Achiuwa on a new two-year contract when he had other options in free agency. “He could have gone elsewhere, but he wanted to be here,” Perry said. “I think he came here last year searching for a place he could call home. He quickly established himself, the way he competed each and every night at both ends of the floor. He’s a versatile athlete, and I can’t say it enough: I love having guys who want to be here and are invested in something they can build into something bigger than just themselves, and Precious embodies that.”
Raptors Notes: Lowry, DeRozan, Roster, G League
As expected, Kyle Lowry signed a one-day contract with the Raptors on Tuesday in order to officially retire as a member of the team. In addition to holding a press conference to honor the player they referred to as the “GROAT” (greatest Raptor of all time), the Raptors announced in a press release that they plan to retire his No. 7 jersey and will hold a series of events during the September 19 weekend to recognize his legacy.
“Kyle is the Toronto Raptors – he created an identity for the Raptors that we strive to uphold every time we take the floor, play hard and play to win, for your teammates, for Toronto and for Canada,” executive vice president Bobby Webster said in a statement. “Put your body on the line. Take a charge, dive for a loose ball – do all the little things that don’t always show up in the box score, but add up to a storied, celebrated career. Kyle was the ultimate competitor whose No. 7 will always be remembered with the Raptors very first championship, and it’s our honor to raise it to the rafters, where it belongs.”
In addition to retiring as a Raptor, Lowry has also joined the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, along with his wife Ayahna Cornish-Lowry, the WNBA team announced today.
We have more out of Toronto:
- After speaking to multiple sources about the subject, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) says a reunion between DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors appears unlikely at this time. Grange cites Toronto’s lack of salary cap flexibility and the fact that DeRozan should have a market around the league as reasons why it likely won’t happen. I also suspect if the team does add another wing, it would prefer for that player to be more of a three-point threat, given the current make-up of the roster.
- Examining the Raptors’ projected rotation, Eric Koreen of The Athletic agrees that the roster could use more shooting, as well as more guard creation and another big man to provide insurance for Jakob Poeltl. Without a trade, addressing all those needs will be tricky, given that the club has 13 standard roster spots accounted for and likely won’t carry a 15th man to open the season due to its proximity to a first-apron hard cap.
- The Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate, put out a press release on Monday announcing leadership changes. Scott Brown Jr. is the 905’s new general manager, while Noah Lewis will serve as the team’s head coach. Brown was previously the 905’s assistant GM; Lewis was a player development coach for the Raptors.
Free Agent Notes: DeRozan, Harden, Warriors, Value Deals
Veteran forward DeMar DeRozan is on track to clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, but his next destination remains an open question.
A Los Angeles native, DeRozan has long been linked to the NBA’s two L.A. teams, but according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link), the Lakers aren’t viewed as potential landing spot at this point. Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link) has suggested he doesn’t believe the Clippers will be a suitor for DeRozan either.
As of mid-Monday afternoon, the Heat hadn’t been in touch with DeRozan, though Miami would be among the teams of interest to the 36-year-old, a source tells Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The Heat and other teams still in in the mix for LeBron James may turn to DeRozan as a Plan B, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater, who said during an appearance on SportsCenter (Twitter video link) that the Warriors are expected to “look into” the 17-year veteran, especially if they miss out on James.
Here are a few more notes and rumors related to free agency:
- Within a story about LeBron’s potential landing spots, Joe Vardon of The Athletic suggests that the Cavaliers and James Harden have essentially already agreed to a framework and dollar amount for a new contract and are waiting to see what happens with LeBron before determining whether Harden’s salary will be spread across two years or three.
- Although the Warriors were among the teams to express interest in free agents Rui Hachimura and Anfernee Simons, they weren’t prepared to meet the price point for either player, Slater writes for ESPN. Hachimura signed a two-year, $28MM deal with the Clippers, while Simons received a two-year, $12.3MM deal from the Sixers. The Warriors likely could’ve matched that Simons contract if they chose not to bring back De’Anthony Melton, Slater notes, but sources tell ESPN the front office preferred Melton due to a belief that he’s a better backcourt fit when the roster is fully healthy, based on his versatility and his perimeter defense.
- Fred Katz of The Athletic identifies some of the best value signings teams have made in free agency so far, singling out the Rockets with Tari Eason, the Knicks with Landry Shamet, and the Heat with Tim Hardaway Jr.
Kings Waive DeMar DeRozan
4:20 pm: The Kings have officially waived DeRozan, according to an announcement from the team.
1:36 pm: The Kings have decided to waive DeMar DeRozan, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Assuming the veteran forward is officially cut in the coming hours, he’d be on track to reach unrestricted free agency on Wednesday.
This outcome had been expected for DeRozan, whose $25.74MM salary for the 2026/27 league year had only been partially guaranteed for $10MM. Sacramento, working with DeRozan and his representatives, explored the trade market but didn’t find a workable deal, Charania adds.
If the Kings opt to use the stretch provision to spread DeRozan’s $10MM partial guarantee across the next three seasons, it would generate more than $22MM in cap savings for ’26/27, taking the team well out of apron territory and below the luxury tax line. Sacramento doesn’t have to determine right away whether to stretch that money, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who notes (via Twitter) that the decision simply must be made by August 29.
Keeping DeRozan’s full $10MM on their cap for 2026/27 would leave the Kings slightly above the tax threshold, observes Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link), but it still could make sense to take that route if the club makes additional cost-cutting moves, since it would keep a $3.33MM cap hit off the books for the following two years.
If the Kings stretch DeRozan’s partial guarantee, he would be ineligible to re-sign with the team, though that’s highly unlikely to be in consideration anyway. The expectation is that the 17-year veteran will seek out an opportunity where he can have a regular role on a playoff team.
DeRozan will turn 37 in August, but he remains a productive and durable player and one of the league’s best crunch-time scorers. He appeared in 77 games in 2025/26, averaging 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 31.2 minutes per night. He has spent the past two seasons with the Kings after being acquired from Chicago in a three-team trade in the summer of 2024.
DeRozan ranks 16th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and could move up a few more spots with a healthy, productive season in 2026/27.
Trade Rumors: DeRozan, Finney-Smith, Sasser, Lakers, Bucks
Kings forward DeMar DeRozan hopes to “accelerate his exit” from Sacramento, according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports. Reporting in June indicated that the team expects to either trade or waive DeRozan, and the 17-year veteran would like for that to happen sooner rather than later, Iko explains.
While a trade that clears DeRozan’s full $25.7MM from their books without any incoming salary coming back would presumably be the preferred route for the cap-strapped Kings, very few teams are in position to accommodate that kind of deal. The more likely outcome is that Sacramento will eventually opt to waive DeRozan and use the stretch provision to spread his partial guarantee of $10MM across three seasons ($3.33MM per year).
If the Kings were to waive and stretch him immediately, it would allow DeRozan to reach the open market while a number of playoff teams still have some spending flexibility, potentially resulting in a more favorable deal. However, it appears Sacramento’s front office wants to exhaust its trade options before resorting to that fall-back option. The deadline to waive a player and stretch his 2026/27 cap hit is August 29.
Here are a few more trade rumors and notes from around the NBA:
- Sources who spoke to Iko described the Rockets‘ trade talks involving forward Dorian Finney-Smith as “fluid,” noting that Houston has explored scenarios in which Finney-Smith would be sent out to create cap flexibility and others in which a player would come back in the deal. However, none of those options has been appealing enough to pull the trigger, and Iko notes that the team’s urgency to make a move has lessened due to how free agency has played out — Houston was able to secure commitments from Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic without using more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception.
- After reporting earlier in the week that the Mavericks are a “leading suitor” to acquire guard Marcus Sasser from the Pistons, Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link) is talking as if that deal is expected to happen. As Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron points out (via Twitter) there’s a plausible scenario in which the Grizzlies, Pistons, and Mavericks combine their trade agreements involving Isaiah Stewart and Santi Aldama into a single transaction and include Sasser — Detroit’s acquisitions of Isaiah Joe (from the Thunder) and John Collins (via sign-and-trade from the Clippers) would also likely be folded in to make it a five-team trade.
- A number of league sources are wondering if the Lakers are planning to make a trade – or a waive-and-stretch move – involving a player like Jarred Vanderbilt or Deandre Ayton to open up a little more cap room to try to re-sign free agent forward Rui Hachimura, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. At this point, that sounds like speculation rather than anything concrete.
- The Bucks touched base with the Grizzlies about Ja Morant during the 2025/26 season and periodically circled back to discuss him all the way up until this Monday (well after agreeing to move Giannis Antetokounmpo) before ultimately deciding not to pursue a trade, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Memphis agreed to send Morant to Portland instead.
Kings Likely To Waive And Stretch DeMar DeRozan
The Kings intend to waive veteran forward DeMar DeRozan and stretch his salary over the next three years if they can’t work out a trade, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
DeRozan’s expiring contract carries a $25.74MM salary for next season that is only guaranteed for $10MM through January 10, so the move would come at minimal cost to the team’s future. The Clippers are expected to have interest in signing DeRozan if he becomes available, Scotto adds.
As Rory Maher detailed in our Offseason Preview at the end of May, the Kings project to be over the first apron in 2026/27 with only 11 players under contract (including the No. 7 overall pick). Waiving Derozan’s somewhat unusual contract and using the stretch provision is one clear way they could save money — it would result in a $3.33MM cap hit each of the next three seasons (through ’28/29).
If Sacramento waives and stretches DeRozan, the club’s payroll would fall to about $187.8MM with 10 players on the roster. That’s enough breathing room for the Kings to stay comfortably below the luxury tax line while giving them a small amount of flexibility to add a free agent or two for more than the minimum using one of the various exceptions they would have access to by operating under the first apron.
The Kings are trying to trade DeRozan, per Scotto, but that could be difficult. As Luke Adams explains in our glossary entry, DeRozan’s outgoing salary for matching purposes would be $10MM, but a team interested in acquiring him would treat his incoming salary as $25.7MM. An under-the-cap team could potentially make it work, but that club would likely need to be incentivized to take on DeRozan’s contract. His partial guarantee could also be increased to make the cap math work.
Coming off a 22-60 season, Sacramento is looking for ways to reduce costs. They’ll likely explore trade options involving Zach LaVine, who’s expected to pick up his $49MM player option for next season, and have talked to the Hornets about a Domantas Sabonis deal.
DeRozan will turn 37 in August, but he remains a productive and durable player and one of the league’s best crunch-time scorers. He appeared in 77 games this season, averaging 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 31.2 minutes per night. He has spent the past two seasons with the Kings after being acquired from Chicago in a three-team trade in the summer of 2024.
Kings Notes: Christie, Perry, Westbrook, DeRozan, Assistant Coaches
Doug Christie‘s success in developing young players was a major reason why the Kings decided to keep him as head coach, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes in a subscriber-only piece. The team only won 22 games this season, but general manager Scott Perry said during Wednesday’s exit interviews that he’s encouraged by the progress of rookies Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell, who improved significantly throughout the season.
“That was one of the main reasons in making sure Doug Christie came back as head coach,” Perry told reporters. “Doug’s relentless energy, his leadership that he exhibited with these young guys, his patience, never wavered throughout a challenging year.”
Christie, who also spoke at the event, promised to eventually produce a winner “come hell or high water.” Perry noted that injuries played a role in this year’s failure, as Christie was forced to use 34 different starting lineups. He got just 19 games from Domantas Sabonis, 23 from Keegan Murray and 39 from Zach LaVine.
“It would be nice to plug those guys in and have all that,” Christie said. “We didn’t have it, but I can see how all of that would fit because the ability to shoot, the ability to defend and the ability to rebound are absolute musts, and those guys help in all those categories.”
There’s more from Sacramento:
- Perry indicated that he’ll be looking to make changes this summer to a roster that’s filled with expensive veterans, Anderson adds. The Kings currently project to be about $20MM over the luxury tax and nearly $4MM above the second apron. “There are a lot of mechanisms to work around the cap,” Perry said. “I will just say this. From the time I started in this league 23 years ago, my philosophy is never to be a team going into the luxury tax unless we were a roster worth of that, ready to compete for a champion. We’re not there yet, so we have a number of avenues over the next three, four, five months to make sure we’re in compliance with that and also put the very best roster we can out there for next season.”
- The Kings are open to bringing back Russell Westbrook next season, per Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 37-year-old point guard, who said he’d like to remain with the team, will be a free agent again after signing a one-year deal with Sacramento shortly before the start of the season. He wound up playing 64 games and averaging 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 29 minutes per night. “Russell’s always welcome with me,” Perry said. “I loved working with Russell Westbrook this year. I mean, he was phenomenal. I can’t say enough. … Extremely competitive. I wish I had an opportunity to work with Russell earlier in my career as well, because I really like what he stands for. And again, we will keep the lines of communication open and we will see what happens and what’s available for us this offseason.”
- An important offseason decision is looming regarding DeMar DeRozan, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN. DeRozan has been extremely reliable since joining the team in 2024, but the final year of his contract only carries a $10MM guarantee on his $25.7MM salary. Parting with him could be a way to ease the tax concerns. Marks also addresses the need to build a younger roster in a video outlining the Kings’ offseason.
- Christie confirmed that assistant coaches Dipesh Mistry and Jimmy Alapag won’t return next season, relays James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).