Potential Free Agent/Trade/Sign Tracker, '25-'26 Season

[twslam07]

Not sure where you get the cap space to add this hypothetical Star PG without trading one of LaVine or Domas. Both Keegan and Keon will some cost more and the Kings will be cap constrained.

No, not "cap space." I'm referring to the space below the 2nd apron.

We're not going to sign a max player in free agency. I'm talking about trading for someone who is on a max contract and how it works with our current contracts in place.

As for Murray & Ellis, I addressed that as well in the previous posts, but I'll show my work again. As I stated previously, I am assuming that Murray's extension will be on par with Trey Murphy's contract and Ellis' extension will be on par with Herb Jones' contract. Below is how the numbers shake out...



As you can see, we have $88.6 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron in 2025-26, and we have $89.7 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron in 2026-27. The max contracts range between $38.7-$59.5 mil (depending on how long that player has been in the league and depending on which year). That means if we added a max player/contract to LaVine, Sabonis, Murray, Ellis, & Carter, we'd still have $30.2-$49.9 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron (depending on how long that player has been in the league and depending on which year).

In order to trade for such a player w/ a max salary, we'd be leveraging a combination of DeRozan, Monk, and/or Valanciunas, or if we trade a combination of those guys for Jrue Holiday (for example), we'd use Holiday's contract to make such a trade.

Lastly, that $38.7-$59.5 mil of space before hitting the 2nd apron definitely opens up after LaVine's max contract expires. For example, let's say we give LaVine an extension worth $25 mil per year. This is how that table would look...



That leaves us with $128.3 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron, and assuming we have another max contract added to that core, we'd still have $62.8-$81.5 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron (depending on how long that player has been in the league).

 

[Tetsujin]

No, not "cap space." I'm referring to the space below the 2nd apron.

We're not going to sign a max player in free agency. I'm talking about trading for someone who is on a max contract and how it works with our current contracts in place.

As for Murray & Ellis, I addressed that as well in the previous posts, but I'll show my work again. As I stated previously, I am assuming that Murray's extension will be on par with Trey Murphy's contract and Ellis' extension will be on par with Herb Jones' contract. Below is how the numbers shake out...

View attachment 13573

As you can see, we have $88.6 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron in 2025-26, and we have $89.7 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron in 2026-27. The max contracts range between $38.7-$59.5 mil (depending on how long that player has been in the league and depending on which year). That means if we added a max player/contract to LaVine, Sabonis, Murray, Ellis, & Carter, we'd still have $30.2-$49.9 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron (depending on how long that player has been in the league and depending on which year).

In order to trade for such a player w/ a max salary, we'd be leveraging a combination of DeRozan, Monk, and/or Valanciunas, or if we trade a combination of those guys for Jrue Holiday (for example), we'd use Holiday's contract to make such a trade.

Lastly, that $38.7-$59.5 mil of space before hitting the 2nd apron definitely opens up after LaVine's max contract expires. For example, let's say we give LaVine an extension worth $25 mil per year. This is how that table would look...

View attachment 13574

That leaves us with $128.3 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron, and assuming we have another max contract added to that core, we'd still have $62.8-$81.5 mil in space before hitting the 2nd apron (depending on how long that player has been in the league).

Things will have to have either gone horrifically wrong or spectacularly right for us to hit that second apron this season which won’t stop people on here from acting like it’s a certainty that the Kings are in salary cap hell for the next decade.

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

Things will have to have either gone horrifically wrong or spectacularly right for us to hit that second apron this season which won’t stop people on here from acting like it’s a certainty that the Kings are in salary cap hell for the next decade.

It truly wouldn't be KingsFans.com if that don't happen...

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1932133813439926499

Please let that trade value drop a bit more before making an offer lol

 

[Kingster]

Carter ?????

Yeah, he's a combo guard, but he probably would benefit from Chris Paul coaching.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

I would disagree that you “have to” move LaVine if you’re building around Sabonis. Ideally, Sabonis is surrounded by good defenders, of course, but I’m not going to say that a team with LaVine & Sabonis has no ability to be a playoff team. Although, if LaVine & Sabonis are your two best players on that team…well my answer changes then.

And you may have tested the market on RealGM to see what he’d return in a trade this offseason, but I’d also say he doesn’t need to be traded this offseason. He’ll be a large expiring salary for us next offseason that could be attractive to a team looking to move off their star while getting immediate cap relief.

But even if we don’t trade LaVine, financially, we can add a max contract next to Sabonis, LaVine, Murray (new deal), Ellis (new deal), & Carter while still having $36-$41 mil to work with before hitting the 2nd apron. Perry could add a star next to those 2 which would likely boost the ceiling of this team to be a serious playoff team (assuming the fit of that star and the fit of the rest of the roster is good).



I reject the premise that once Sabonis is 30 we now have no window to win. He’s still going to be at his peak for a few more years (barring any injuries). It’s not like we’d begin building a team from scratch when he is 30. We can be in the process of building that team around him right now. And there even pieces on this roster today that work with Sabonis long term.

Lets just walk through a hypothetical to show how our window wouldn’t be gone after LaVine is moved…

Let’s say we do my proposed trade that has us sending out DeMar DeRozan & Malik Monk and getting back Zach Collins, PJ Washington, & Lonzo Ball. And play the season out with LaVine on the roster. Then the following offseason, let’s say we trade LaVine + assets for an upgrade and get a star PG. We’d have the following “core” roster going into the 2026-27 season (Sabonis would be 30)…

PG - Star PG / Ball
SG - Ellis / Carter
SF - Murray
PF - Washington
C - Sabonis / Valanciunas

Assuming we’ve upgraded from LaVine, that team doesn’t appear to have no window but yet it is after LaVine is gone.



I’ve stated multiple times that I think they should rebuild, but that I don’t think Vivek will allow it. But even then, I don’t think you’re limited to just those two options. As I laid out above, there is a path to winning now without LaVine on this roster.

If we’re getting a star pg without giving up Sabonis than it’s gonna take Carter and multiple firsts. Lamelo and Young are probably the two that would work if Morant is traded I’m sure they’d want Sabonis and not Carter.

The defense around Young would be good in your scenario with ellis, PJ, and Keegan would need Keegan to take a leap offensively which is hope he could not having to defend the top two scores every night

 

[TheMobb]

Yeah, he's a combo guard, but he probably would benefit from Chris Paul coaching.

All of Monk, Carter, Keon, Keegan would benefit. Even a guy like Sabonis as a guy who’s running the offense could learn from CP3.