The Dennis Schroder never made sense for the Sacramento Kings. It makes even less sense now.
As soon as the Kings and De’Aaron Fox’s relationship came to a rocky ending this time last year, it became evident that Sacramento would need to find a long-term solution at the point guard spot.
Although the Kings allowed former Executive of the Year winner Monte McNair and his front office to execute the Fox trade not even eight weeks prior, McNair and his staff were excused less than two hours following Sacramento’s season-ending loss to Dallas in the NBA Play-In Game.
First-year general manager Scott Perry, who was brought in to replace McNair a few days later, struck quickly during the opening minutes of free agency by signing veteran journeyman Dennis Schroder, who was entering his age-32 season and suiting up for his 10th NBA franchise.
While Schroder’s age, skill set, and surprisingly large contract — $44.5 million over three years with a partial guarantee in the final season — didn’t seem to align with the Sacramento Kings’ current roster makeup or timeline, Perry saw it differently.
Internally, Schroder was viewed as the top target on the market, the “number one guy” Sacramento believed could serve as a building block as the organization pushed toward sustained success.
(Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
“When free agency was embarking upon us, this was the number one guy we felt in the league for us that was going to fit that bill and help us establish—he’s a building block to us—establishing that sustainable success that we’re striving to get,” Perry said at Schroder’s introductory press conference back in July.
“You need a leader at that point guard position. I think Dennis is going to definitely provide that.”
Fast forward to today, and Schroder–along with the highly-coveted three-and-D guard Keon Ellis–has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in return for veteran forward De’Andre Hunter.
Rather than receive a first-round pick in return for Ellis, as many expected would be the case over the past month, Sacramento settled on attaching him with Schroder’s bloated contract in a move that the organization views as a solution to clearing a current logjam at the guard spots, one that will now give rookie Nique Clifford more run at the shooting guard spot.
Clearing the log-jam is one thing. Losing a young player that half the league wanted in Ellis, without bringing back a draft pick, is another.
The fact that the Sacramento Kings were forced to attach Ellis to Schroder’s contract while ALSO taking back more money in the short-term (Hunter is set to make $24 million on an expiring deal in 2026-27, adding nearly $10 million to the Sacramento Kings’ cap sheet) is another issue in itself.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Sacramento will have to get busy before Thursday’s trade deadline (12 pm PT) if it wants to avoid being a team above the tax line, an inconceivable possibility considering where they sit in the standings.
Sacramento is $2.1M below the tax
Would expect the Kings to get their 2026-27 finances in order in the next few days and most certainly in the offseason.
Sacramento is a projected tax and double apron team next year. Plenty of options for them to create flexibility moving… pic.twitter.com/mkmB5HLwJT
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 1, 2026
A Move Still Waiting on Its Explanation
Many fans and analysts from around the league are looking at this move as another lost trade for Sacramento.
Moving Ellis, while losing a draft pick and adding more salary, doesn’t help a Sacramento team that is currently 26 games under .500 and holds the league’s worst record.
Making more moves before Thursday’s deadline could help this deal make sense. As it stands right now, though, it’s hard not to be confused about what the Kings are actually trying to accomplish.
This feels less like a completed thought and more like the first step in a plan that hasn’t fully revealed itself yet, one that could include trades for other veterans like DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, or Zach LaVine in the coming days.
Building Block or Trade Tool?
One possible justification for the Ellis-Hunter move is flexibility, although it may not be immediate.
Sacramento could include De’Andre Hunter in another deal at this deadline, use his $24 million contract this summer or next season as an expiring salary.
That kind of contract can be useful when reshaping a roster. The issue is that the value of this move is entirely dependent on something else happening later, which makes it difficult to evaluate on its own.
The Cost of Moving Keon Ellis
Not getting a single draft pick in return for Keon Ellis–and having to attach him to what we can now definitively say was a bad, pointless Schroder signing–is brutal.
Ellis clearly had league-wide value, yet the Sacramento Kings walked away empty-handed in terms of draft capital (while actually losing a 2029 second-round pick in the process).
The Athletic‘s Sam Amick reports that some teams, namely Indiana and Boston, balked at the first-round pick asking price near the end of trade talks, but Sacramento lost another promising young player without adding the potential of a future pick.
Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan aren’t likely to bring back a first if they are traded this week. Moving Domantas Sabonis could bring the Kings a first-rounder or two under the right circumstances, but it feels like Ellis was their most attractive trade chip–And now he’s off the table.
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
An Unclear Team-Building Direction
This move also underscores the ongoing lack of clarity in how the roster is being shaped, a confusion that arguably began with Schroder’s signing.
Are the Sacramento Kings trying to add established veterans to stabilize things in the short term, or are they attempting to build toward a younger core that can grow together?
By offloading Dario Saric to Chicago in the three-team deal with Cleveland, Sacramento will be able to convert two-way center and rookie surprise Dylan Cardwell to a standard contract.
However, this outcome could have been achieved regardless. The Sacramento Kings are unlikely to keep both Drew Eubanks and Doug McDermott on the roster much longer, and waiving one of those bench veterans would have opened a spot for Cardwell without requiring a trade.
For a team sitting 26 games under .500, the logical priority would be leaning into youth and development. Instead, this sequence of decisions feels stuck between two timelines, without fully committing to either.
A Fit That Feels Late
On the court, Hunter could be a nice fit next to Keegan Murray in the forward spots, particularly from a defensive and positional standpoint.
But even that comes with a caveat. This feels like a move that would have made far more sense a year or two ago, when the Sacramento Kings were still trying to push forward and build around the Fox-Sabonis-Murray core.
In the current context, it feels late — and slightly misaligned with where the franchise actually is.
There are four days to go until the trade deadline passes. Perry and the Sacramento Kings still have a lot of work to do if this move is going to make sense for the long run.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Sunday, February 1st – @ Washington Wizards – 3:00 PM PT
Wednesday, February 4th – vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, February 6th – vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7:00 PM PT
Saturday, February 7th – vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:00 PM PT
Monday, February 9th – @ New Orleans Pelicans – 5:00 PM PT
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