Charles Barkley explains why he likes the Sacramento Kings’ addition of DeMar DeRozan
Consider Hall of Famer and TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley a fan of the Sacramento Kings’ addition of DeMar DeRozan.
“I think it’s a great pickup,” Barkley told The Sacramento Bee on the driving range at the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nevada. “He’s been one of my favorite players for a long time. He’s a great addition. They got better.”
The Kings, who were eliminated by the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round of the play-in tournament last season, added DeRozan earlier this month in a three-team sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
The Kings finished ninth in the Western Conference a year after earning the No. 3 seed in 2022-23, breaking their 16-year playoff drought. Their win total in 2023-24 dropped from 48 to 46 games.
“They regressed last year,” Barkley said at the celebrity golf tournament near South Lake Tahoe. “They were better the year before. But going out and getting a veteran like that is going to really help them.”
DeRozan signed a three-year, $74 million contract to join the Kings, where he’ll be featured in a high-scoring offense with point guard De’Aaron Fox and All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis. DeRozan led the NBA in minutes last season for the Bulls while averaging 24.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. He’s 36th on the league’s all-time scoring list.
DeRozan was introduced in a news conference Monday and said he chose Sacramento because he believed the team had a chance to win, evident by how many times he watched the Kings light the beam from his home in Chicago.
“Winning solves all,” DeRozan said. “That’s one thing that I always express to guys that I play with who want to be All-Stars, who want to get paid. Winning solves everything. You want to be a part of winning, you want to be a winner, you want to be known as a winner. That’s the most appealing thing for me.
“And you see it every single night when this team plays. It’s all about winning.”
Where the Kings fit in the competitive Western Conference remains to be seen. After the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to be formidable after earning the No. 1 seed in the regular season. The Minnesota Timberwolves are returning the bulk of their rotation players after reaching the Western Conference finals following their upset of the 2022-23 champions, the Denver Nuggets, in the second round.
“I don’t know that yet,” Barkley said when asked where the Kings stack up in the West. “I got to see the team work, but they got better. They will do better than they were last year.”
