The Kings Waived DeMar DeRozan — and Instantly Created the Best Free Agent on the Market
Sacramento cut the six-time All-Star loose, making him the most accomplished player available. Every contender with a mid-range-shaped hole is on the clock.
August 26, 2026 at 6:20 PM EDT
1 min read
The Sacramento Kings waived DeMar DeRozan, turning a six-time All-Star into the most decorated free agent on the market overnight.
Why a team cuts an All-Star
A waiver like this is rarely about whether the player can still score — DeRozan can, and has for nearly two decades. It's about roster math: a rebuilding-adjacent team clearing the runway (and the salary) for its younger core rather than paying a veteran to win games that don't serve the timeline. Sacramento choosing the timeline over the name tells you which direction that franchise thinks it's heading.
The fit market
For contenders, a buyout-priced DeRozan is exactly the August luxury item worth arguing about: an 18-a-night bucket-getter who needs the ball, on a team that already has a hierarchy. The fit question — not the talent question — will decide where he lands, and in a suddenly loaded East, a fourth-quarter shot-maker has obvious appeal for anyone chasing the Heat and the new-look Sixers.
Wherever he signs, the number to watch isn't his scoring average. It's the team's clutch-time offense before and after — that's the specific problem a DeRozan signing exists to solve.