Where the Kings Stand After Signing Schröder

The apron system in its current form was implemented for the 24/25 season and has already changed the NBA landscape. The 2nd apron probably won’t be an issue for Sacramento; however, the first apron is already in play, and so is the tax threshold. Per Spotrac.com, here is how the first apron works:

Team becomes hard-capped at First Apron by or can't use/do:

•  Using more than Tax MLE out of NTMLE

• Using BAE

• Acquiring player via Sign-and-Trade

• Signing a buyout player who made more than NTMLE on previous contract

• Using more than 100% in salary matching in a trade

• Using a TPE that was created in prior season

To clarify, Sacramento is not over the first apron, however, they are capped at it because they used more than the Tax MLE (mid-level exception) on Schröder. The Kings can still acquire a player via sign and trade, so guys like Jonathan Kuminga are still somewhat on the table, but fans shouldn’t get too excited, and I’ll get to why later.

Sacramento will also be able to use any TPEs (Traded Player Exceptions) that are still valid as long as they do not put them over that $195,946,000 number, including the larger exception created from the Kevin Huerter trade.

It has not been confirmed, but I expect Saric to fit into one of those smaller TPEs, likely the one created from trading Chris Duarte. Finally, the Kings will have access to the $5.1 million BAE (Bi-Annual Exception). The TPEs are especially useful tools for teams like Sacramento that are over the cap and still looking to improve their roster, but they do come with their own set of rules.

The other number that the Kings are coming up on is the aforementioned luxury tax threshold and this is why a Kuminga acquisition would be unlikely. After Schröder and Saric are brought in and Valančiūnas is moved, the Kings are roughly $4 million away from the threshold, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

This won’t completely end their chances at other moves, but it will change how they navigate the rest of the offseason. Now, the Kings will have a few options; they can look for a trade to help improve the roster where they send out salary, or they can fill out the rest of the roster with veteran minimum contracts. You may be asking the question: if the Kings still have space under the first apron, can’t they just go over the tax threshold?

Yes, but they haven’t since the early 2000s so don’t get your hopes up. 

GM Scott Perry already acquired a draft pick, which was not only a well respected pick, but also allows Sacramento to add a player for just over $3M and keep them under team control for up to four years at a time when the team does not have a ton of flexibility to add salary. This leads us to the exact situation that Keon Ellis is in right now and why this year may not be when the apron hits Sacramento the hardest. 

Keon Ellis had his option picked up this week which will make him an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season if the parties do not agree to an extension. Keegan Murray is also extension eligible starting July 1st, and recent extensions to players like Jabari Smith Jr. are giving the Kings an idea of what number it will take to retain him long-term.

As it stands, Sacramento may not be able to sign either without some big changes. Zach LaVine is up for an extension on July 7th, and DeMar DeRozan has only a partially guaranteed 3rd year. How the Kings handle these negotiations and shed salary throughout this next season will set the stage for negotiations with the Kings' best defenders. 

This probably takes the Kings out of the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes next summer (that they were never in), but they may still be able to lock down Ellis and Murray while starting to turn over the current roster this season if all goes well. Fans may not be super excited about how things are playing out, but it’s clear that the Kings aren’t under the impression that their roster is a title contender.