Sacramento Kings veteran DeMar DeRozan has been an All-Star caliber player throughout much of his NBA career, but he has bounced around to a few different teams, and one NBA executive thinks that has to do with how much winning (or lack thereof) he has driven during his career.
“Always a midrange shooter, DeRozan is taking more shots from that distance than ever before,” wrote ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “A third of his shots are from 10 to 16 feet and he’s shooting a career-best 52% on those looks. He’s getting to the line and proving to be a reliable shooter.
“But, as some around the league have mentioned to ESPN, DeRozan is doing it on a losing team. In the past six years with the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls, DeRozan has had one winning season and one trip to the playoffs.
“‘DeRozan is a highly skilled player who is great to have in the locker room and a guy who you want to give the ball to at the end of a game,’ one executive said. ‘But his play hasn’t driven winning, and it’s something that unfortunately has been the case throughout his career and it’s part of why he’s changed teams a bunch.'”
The Kings added DeRozan in the offseason to give them an intriguing trio also headlined by De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. The early returns, however, haven’t been very encouraging. Even with their trio doing a solid job of staying healthy and available, the Kings have gone just 10-13 through 23 games.
DeRozan is averaging 22.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season, but he’s now finding himself in another situation where his team doesn’t appear to be a major threat. Since his departure from the Toronto Raptors in the 2018 offseason, he has participated in just 12 playoff games total.
For what it’s worth, the California native was part of some really solid teams during his time with the Raptors, especially in the 2015-16 season when the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately for him, he was traded away right before Toronto put together an unforgettable 2018-19 season to win its first NBA title.
It isn’t too late for DeRozan to make a push for a ring of his own before his career ends, but he is 35 years old and won’t be in the league forever. He’s currently scheduled to be with the Kings through the 2026-27 season, which could take him through the remainder of his highly productive years in the NBA.
As such, if he wants to win a championship before it’s all over, he may need to either help the Kings turn things around or land somewhere else, perhaps via trade. The good news as it relates to this season is that Sacramento has only played 23 games and still has time to make a push in the race for glory.
