The Kings view LaVine as a temporary solution: $49 million does not guarantee him a starting role
Zach LaVine formally secured another season with the Sacramento Kings by exercising a player option worth approximately $49 million, but that move did not change the direction in which the club intends to develop. According to a report by journalist James Ham, the front office has not guaranteed him a place in the starting five, a specific number of minutes or an important role in the rotation for the 2026/27 season. Speaking on ESPN 1320 Sacramento, Ham said the Kings had openly made it clear to the 31-year-old guard that their long-term plans at shooting guard do not include him. Such a message does not mean LaVine will not play, but it clearly shows that his lucrative contract no longer corresponds to the sporting status usually enjoyed by one of the team's highest-paid players. Depending on how the season develops, his health and the interest of other clubs, Sacramento could once again attempt to find a trade partner.
The situation is unusual because three different interests overlap at the same time. By making an understandable business decision, LaVine secured the largest individual payment available to him for the following season, while the Kings are trying to create room for younger players and reshape the roster after a very poor competitive year. Potential trade partners, meanwhile, must assess whether it is worth taking on nearly $49 million in salary for an experienced scorer who is entering the final year of his contract and returning from hand surgery. That is precisely why LaVine can be a useful player on the court while simultaneously being a highly demanding asset on the market. His future in Sacramento will therefore probably depend less on his reputation and more on how quickly he can prove that he is healthy, productive and capable of fitting into another team's plans.
Exercising the option was an expected business decision
LaVine exercised his option for the 2026/27 season at the end of June, and Sportsnet, citing a report by ESPN's Shams Charania, reported that it was worth approximately $49 million. It is the final year of the five-year contract worth about $215 million that he signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2022. After that season expires, he is expected to become an unrestricted free agent, provided he does not agree to a new contract or extension before then. For a basketball player who turned 31 in March and is coming off a season shortened by surgery, giving up such a large guaranteed amount would have represented a considerable financial risk. Exercising the option was therefore no surprise, even if it was clear that Sacramento no longer intended to build the team around him.
The contract, however, has a significant impact on the Kings' room for manoeuvre. The NBA officially set the salary cap for the 2026/27 season at $164.961 million, meaning LaVine's salary alone accounts for almost 30 percent of that amount. The luxury-tax threshold was set at $200.428 million, the first apron at $209.015 million and the second apron at $221.686 million. In such a system, clubs that already have a high payroll must match outgoing and incoming contracts very carefully, while additional restrictions above the so-called apron thresholds reduce the number of straightforward solutions. Sacramento therefore cannot view LaVine only as a scorer who can help during the regular season; his contract simultaneously determines which other changes are realistically feasible.
No guaranteed minutes or starting role
The most important part of Ham's report is not the claim that the Kings want to trade LaVine, as such a possibility has been discussed for some time, but the description of the club's attitude towards his role. According to Ham, Sacramento has promised him neither a place in the starting five nor a predetermined number of minutes. According to the same report, the club told him that exercising the option represented his business decision, but that the front office also had to make decisions in the franchise's best interests. In other words, salary will not automatically be a criterion when the rotation is assembled. If the coaching staff determines that developing younger players or using a differently structured lineup should take priority, LaVine could receive a smaller role than he has had throughout most of his career.
That is particularly important following Sacramento's change in priorities. The club provided further confirmation of its new direction on July 7, when it released DeMar DeRozan and created even more room to reorganise the veteran portion of the roster. With the seventh pick in the 2026 NBA draft, the Kings selected point guard Darius Acuff Jr., before acquiring the 29th pick in a trade and selecting Alex Karaban, while Emanuel Sharp arrived as the 45th pick. The roster already included younger players such as Nique Clifford, Keegan Murray and Maxime Raynaud, so it is logical to expect the club to want to assess their developmental potential through genuine NBA minutes. During Summer League, Acuff demonstrated an ability to create offence, and the club presents him as an important part of its future at the guard positions. LaVine is therefore entering a season in which his experience and offensive quality can help, but he no longer has the status of a player around whom the rotation must be adjusted.
A trade is possible, but the large contract narrows the market
LaVine's contract expires in the summer of 2027, which gives him a certain amount of trade value because a future club would not be taking on a multi-year commitment. On the other hand, nearly $49 million in salary for one season means that most potential partners would have to send a substantial package of contracts in the opposite direction or have enough room below the salary cap. For teams targeting the playoffs, the question is not only whether LaVine can score, but also whether he can justify such a financial burden, remain healthy and accept a role that may not involve constantly having the ball in his hands. For rebuilding clubs, taking on an expensive veteran salary without additional compensation makes little sense. As a result, if Sacramento wants to trade him immediately, it could receive offers that do not suit its sporting or long-term interests.
Ham assessed that LaVine became almost impossible to trade on favourable terms after exercising the option, but that does not mean the market will remain the same throughout the season. A player who returns healthy, makes a high percentage of his shots and demonstrates that he can help a competitive team may become more attractive by February than he was during the summer. At the same time, an expiring contract can become more appealing as the trade deadline approaches because the remaining duration of the commitment decreases and no guaranteed salary remains after the season. NBA insider Jake Fischer described precisely such a scenario in early July, reporting that the Kings were then counting on LaVine improving his market position through strong performances before the trade deadline. Sacramento therefore does not necessarily have a reason to accept the first available deal, particularly if it would have to attach a valuable draft pick or young player in order to move the contract.
A buyout remains a topic, but no plan has been officially confirmed
The possibility of a mutual termination, or contract buyout, has also emerged in discussions about LaVine's future, although the available information is not yet entirely consistent. In late July, Ham assessed that a potential buyout, if the club was considering one at all, would make more sense before the start of the season than after LaVine had played a larger number of games in an unclear role. However, Fischer reported in early July that the Kings had no plan at that time to buy out the contract and instead wanted to allow the player to rebuild his market value. This means that a buyout should be regarded as a possible exit being discussed rather than a decision by the front office. According to the available information, neither the club nor LaVine had officially announced by July 31, 2026, that they were negotiating such an agreement.
A buyout would require both sides to agree on the financial terms and LaVine to relinquish part of his guaranteed salary, which is no small demand when the remaining amount is nearly $49 million. The advantage for the player would be the opportunity to choose a more competitive environment and potentially obtain a clearer role, while Sacramento would gain an open roster spot and avoid daily discussions about playing time. Nevertheless, terminating the contract would not necessarily resolve all of its financial consequences, and the club would lose the possibility of later using it as an expiring salary in a trade. Waiting until the first part of the season is therefore a rational option, provided the relationship between the player, coaching staff and front office remains professional. The greatest risk of such an approach is that limited playing time or a new health problem could further reduce interest from other teams.
His return from surgery must reconfirm his value
LaVine's 2025/26 season ended following surgery on the tendon in his right little finger. NBA.com and the Associated Press reported in February that he would miss the remainder of the season because of the procedure, while the league's official statistics show that he appeared in 39 games, starting 37 of them. He averaged 19.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.4 minutes. He shot 47.9 percent from the field, 39 percent from three-point range and 88 percent from the free-throw line. Those percentages confirm that, when he was on the court, he was still capable of finishing possessions efficiently and stretching the defence with his shooting.
The problem was not only his production but also his availability. LaVine played fewer than half of the regular-season games, and earlier in his career he also went through more serious injury interruptions, including surgery on his right foot in 2024 and reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in 2017. Previous injuries do not in themselves mean that new problems will recur, but clubs take them into account when assessing the risk of a large contract. For Sacramento, the beginning of the season will therefore be both a sporting test and a form of market showcase. LaVine must demonstrate that he can withstand the schedule, maintain his efficiency and function without the offence having to be organised primarily around him.
How the LaVine project reached a turning point
The Kings acquired LaVine in February 2025 in a major three-team trade in which De'Aaron Fox went to the San Antonio Spurs, while the Chicago Bulls received a package of players and the return of their own first-round pick. Along with LaVine, Sacramento received Sidy Cissoko and several future draft picks. The logic at the time was to retain offensive quality after Fox's departure and pair LaVine with DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis. LaVine arrived in Sacramento as a two-time All-Star and a player with proven shooting, driving and individual scoring abilities. However, the team's results and injury problems did not confirm that the veteran roster could become a stable playoff contender.
The 2025/26 season ended with a record of 22 wins and 60 losses, according to official NBA data, which once again directed Sacramento towards the draft and the development of younger players. LaVine was the team's leading scorer by average, but he played only 39 games, Sabonis 19 and Murray 23, meaning continuity among the key lineups practically disappeared. Such an outcome further weakened the argument for continuing the expensive veteran project without changes. The selection of Acuff and the addition of new young players indicate that the front office wants a longer developmental horizon, even if several experienced leading players remain on the roster. In that context, LaVine now looks more like a transitional member of the team than the foundation of its next phase.
The beginning of the season could determine the final outcome
The most realistic short-term scenario is that LaVine begins the season in a Kings uniform, but without any guarantee that his role will correspond to his salary or previous status. If he receives enough minutes and returns to the level of an efficient scorer, Sacramento could wait for a club that develops a need for an additional shooter and creator during the season. Injuries, poor results or a change in the ambitions of a playoff candidate often alter the market more quickly than summer negotiations. LaVine's expiring contract could then become less of a burden, particularly if an interested team wants a short-term reinforcement without a commitment beyond 2027. If interest still fails to materialise, the Kings can allow the contract to expire and thereby open a substantial amount of financial space the following summer.
For LaVine, the situation is delicate but not without a way out. His shooting ability remains valuable in a league in which almost every competitive team is looking for a perimeter player capable of scoring both off the dribble and without the ball. At the same time, he must accept that he will have to re-establish his reputation after surgery and on a roster that is no longer organising its future around him. The Kings, meanwhile, must balance the development of younger players with the need to preserve LaVine's trade value, which could be difficult if they significantly reduce his minutes. The first twenty to forty games, a period Ham specifically highlighted in his report, could therefore show whether the partnership will end in a trade, a mutual separation or simply the expiration of the contract in the summer of 2027.
Sources:
- Bleacher Report β report on James Ham's statements, the absence of a guaranteed role and the Kings' long-term plans (link)
- Sportsnet β confirmation that the player option for the 2026/27 season was exercised and basic contract information (link)
- NBA.com β Zach LaVine's official statistics for the 2025/26 season (link)
- NBA.com / Associated Press β information about surgery on the tendon in his right little finger and the end of his season (link)
- NBA Communications β official salary-cap, luxury-tax and financial-apron thresholds for the 2026/27 season (link)
- NBA.com β results of the 2026 NBA draft and the Sacramento Kings' selections (link)
- NBA.com β report on the development of Darius Acuff Jr. and his role in the Kings' future (link)
- NBA.com β official announcement regarding the release of DeMar DeRozan on July 7, 2026 (link)
- NBA.com β official review of the 2025 trade in which LaVine arrived in Sacramento and De'Aaron Fox went to San Antonio (link)
- Official NBA game report β the Kings' final 22-60 record in the 2025/26 season (link)
- Sports Illustrated β report on the Kings' earlier position that they did not plan to buy out the contract and wanted to increase LaVine's market value (link)
- NBA.com β information about LaVine's right-foot surgery in 2024 (link)
- NBA.com β official announcement regarding the injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in 2017 (link)