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Jan 6, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie celebrates with forward DeMar DeRozan (10) in double overtime in the game against the Miami Heat at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

How Trading DeRozan Will Help Christie's System

Originally posted on Sacramento Kings on SI
By Will Zimmerle | Last updated May 14, 2025 12:45 PM ET

While the playoffs continue, the Sacramento Kings' rumor mill is already heating up, with news that the team will reportedly be looking at trade options for six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan.

The move makes sense from multiple perspectives. DeRozan will be 36 next season and is entering the end of his career, and likely wants to be on a team that will be competitive next season. While the Kings appear to be looking to be just that, there are no guarantees that they will make their way back to the playoffs.

Additionally, DeRozan's $24.8 million contract for next season is easily one of the most movable contracts on the Kings' roster. Adding on that only $10 million of DeRozan's $25.7 million salary is guaranteed for the 2026-27 season only makes his contract easier to move.

But looking at the Kings' perspective, trading DeRozan makes sense for surrounding Doug Christie with players that fit into his system, which appears to be high-volume three-point shooters.

Christie mentioned multiple times that he wanted the Kings to take more threes last season, but they finished with just 35.2 attempts per game, good for 24th in the league. Looking at just the 51 games that Christie coached after taking over for Mike Brown, the number stayed about the same at 35.4 per contest.

Doug Christie has said a couple of times he wants the Kings to shoot around 50 three-pointers a game.

Since Christie took over, they average 36 three-point attempts per game. Which is 21st in the NBA.
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) March 11, 2025

One of the aspects that made it so difficult was DeRozan's penchant to take the mid-range shot, something he is well-known for throughout his NBA career. DeRozan once again led the league with 8.3 mid-range field goal attempts per game.

That not only led the league, but did so by a wide margin, with Brandon Ingram coming in second at 5.6 per game.

For even more reference, DeRozan's 8.3 attempts in the mid-range outpaced 14 teams. That ultimately led to the Kings leading the league with 15.0 mid-range attempts per contest.

The mid-range shot is making a comeback, and DeRozan going to work on his patented pull-up jumper isn't a bad thing, but when it comes to fit and scheme, his high volume makes it nearly impossible for Christie to implement his high volume three point offense.

It's unknown if Christie will have the same approach next season, but his pairing with Mike Woodson indicates that the Kings could lean into the higher amount of looks from deep. The New York Knicks led the league in three-point attempts under Woodson during the 2012-13 season.

DeRozan finished last season with 3.3 attempts from deep per game, which was his most since the 2017-18 season. But he ranked 144th out of the 231 players with enough games to qualify for Basketball Reference's season rankings.

Swapping out DeRozan for a higher volume shooter alone would raise the Kings up the rankings. Even four more attempts per game to get the Kings to 39.2 would have resulted in the ninth most attempts from deep last season.

None of this is to say that DeRozan isn't an extremely talented basketball player, who is clearly still playing at a high level, but when it comes to fit, making a swap feels like the best move for all involved and would allow Christie to bring his offensive vision to life.

This article first appeared on Sacramento Kings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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