The Sacramento Kings are amid an offseason in which they hope to improve upon last year's team. Despite stating multiple times over the years that the Kings intended to build around De'Aaron Fox, they went against that when they traded Fox to the San Antonio Spurs as part of a three-team deal that landed the Kings Zach LaVine in return.
LaVine was reunited with his former Bulls teammate DeMar DeRozan after having played multiple seasons together in Chicago. While the duo might not have been what Kings fans had in mind, they still qualified for the NBA Play-In Tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference.
Malik Monk
December 1, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) dribbles the basketball against San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center.
© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Kings add former Pistons guard, hold onto Malik Monk despite trade rumors
Unfortunately, that's as far as the Kings went, as they fell in the first round of the play-in to the Dallas Mavericks. Now, they'll look to bolster their roster in hopes of improving upon last season's effort.
Shams Charania announced that the Kings were making a significant move in their backcourt on Tuesday.
"Free agent guard Dennis Schroder has agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal with the Sacramento Kings, sources tell ESPN. Kings officials and Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports finalized the deal Tuesday," wrote Charania.
Before the signing was announced, rumors circulated that the Kings would work with Schroder's former team, the Detroit Pistons, on a sign-and-trade deal that would have sent Kings guard Malik Monk to Detroit in return.
Instead of executing the sign-and-trade, the Kings decided to sign him outright and keep Malik Monk for the time being. Monk is one of the best spark plugs off the bench the league has to offer. Ahead of last season, Monk was the betting favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award before it went to Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard.
While Monk remains on the Kings, it doesn't mean that he'll be with them at the start of next season. If the Kings were willing to consider putting Monk in the deal for Schroder, it could mean they'll offer Monk for someone else later in the offseason.