“Where do we go from here?” It is the question every front office might ask after an NBA team concludes its season, especially when its season run showed a definite need for improvement. For the Sacramento Kings, the latter is a good enough reason for the team to start looking for some changes to be made. After all, despite bringing in veterans like DeMar DeRozan and firing Mike Brown as head coach, the team was still eliminated from playoff contention for the 2nd year in a row, and the 18th time in the last 19 years. In such situations, it is not just the team but also the players who would wonder whether they would be suited to another team. Given the Kings’ alleged abysmal situation, DeMar DeRozan might have also started thinking, “Where do I go from here?”

The Sacramento Kings have been eliminated from the tournament by recently losing to the Dallas Mavericks in a Play-In game by a 120-106 score. During the post-game presser, an emotional DeMar DeRozan was present to discuss the loss, see the season fall short of the playoffs, and admit it to be the most trying season he has yet experienced in his overall NBA career, which is saying a lot, since DeRozan is a member of the Draft Class of 2009. During the Q&A session, a reporter asked DeRozan whether he knew the direction the franchise was taking, and whether he would shape his own future according to that. The player gave a detailed answer which, in the end, could have been summarized in just three words: “I don’t know”.

“You know, I’m pretty sure lot of decisions got to be made from top to bottom, you know. Like I said, you know, in next couple of days, next couple of weeks, just processing everything that kind of went on, you know, from a personal standpoint,” said DeRozan. “That is going to be a priority then, you know. We see what happens from there.”

DeMar DeRozan had joined the Sacramento Kings only last year, being one amongst the many players mixed in a three-team deal that involved DeRozan’s former team Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, and the San Antonio Spurs. DeRozan’s decision to ink a sign-and-trade deal with the Kings was initially considered a unique change. After all, as ‘Inside the Kings’ Deputy Editor Logan Struck highlighted, “It is very rare for a proven star of DeRozan’s caliber to want to play for the Kings”.

Even if one were playing for a team like the Chicago Bulls, they would think twice about joining a team that made the playoffs only once since 2006, and hasn’t gone beyond the first round since 2004. However, as DeRozan himself revealed during an interview on the Club 520 podcast, “When I just sat back and realized what the team needed, what they had, what they were fighting for, and how bad they want to win, it just fit the mold that I wanted to be a part of… I’m looking forward to it”.

In his debut season with the Sacramento Kings, DeMar DeRozan became the team’s 2nd highest average scorer, right behind De’Aaron Fox, by averaging 22.2 points, along with 3.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. Despite his caliber and that of De’Aaron Fox, others could not catch up to them on the performance front. After a coach firing and a blockbuster trade that saw De’Aaron Fox being sent to the San Antonio Spurs, DeRozan was all alone. The player is not a young man. At 35 years of age, he has made just one Conference Finals appearance in his 15-year career. Therefore, he would be tempted to try his luck elsewhere. With his mind already in doubt, all DeMar DeRozan would have needed was another sign to tell him that the Sacramento Kings were not meant to be his home. Lo and behold, he got it.

Will Monte McNair’s exit influence DeMar DeRozan’s decision?

It is not rare for the team to part ways with a front office member/coach as soon as their season ends. The Los Angeles Lakers did not let even a week pass by before they fired Darvin Ham. However, the Sacramento Kings have now topped that by reportedly mutually parting ways with the team’s GM, Monte McNair, less than a day after the team’s elimination. Some might say that the move was surprising. However, according to NBA reporter Will Zimmerle, there had already been rumors around the Kings’ possible GM replacement. Candidates like Joe Dumars were already being touted. Whether the decision to part ways with McNair was long planned or a spur of the moment, it can have an impact on DeRozan’s decision-making.

It was Monte McNair who brought in the veteran to the Sacramento Kings. He explained his decision during the July 2024 interview with ‘Sactown Sports 1140’, revealing that “at his age, to show no signs of slowing down and continue to evolve his game, add the passing and playmaking, and scoring at the line in the paint, in the mid-range, he’s just, you know, a complete player, and I think a six-time All-Star uh to True Sacramento”.

Due to the faith McNair placed in him, the duo would have developed a close bond. As Will Zimmerle highlighted, DeRozan’s presence only made the roster more guard-heavy, undersized, and lacking in length and athleticism. McNair reportedly preached flexibility, but his role in maintaining that flexibility probably cost him his job. With one supporter of his gone, DeRozan would not be inclined to stay.

Furthermore, McNair’s exit is another example of the alleged dysfunction within the Kings’ squad. Looking to make his final NBA years count, it is not something DeRozan would wish to involve himself in any further.

Do you believe that DeMar DeRozan will leave the Sacramento Kings or stay? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.