Carl Landry’s Kings Contract: Why It Became the Worst Deal in Sacramento History
Every NBA franchise has handed out a contract that immediately soured — and for the Sacramento Kings, that dubious distinction belongs to Carl Landry. Signed to a four-year, $26 million deal in 2013, the agreement collapsed under the weight of injuries and underperformance, becoming a cautionary tale about risk, health, and the math of NBA roster construction.
The Deal: Solid Numbers on Paper, Disastrous in Reality
Landry arrived in Sacramento with a credible resume. The 2007 second-round pick had put up a career-high 18 points and 6.5 rebounds in just 28 games during the 2009-10 season. His averages settled to 11.9 points and 4.8 rebounds across a full Kings campaign — productive numbers for a bench big man backing up Buddy Hield and later Jason Thompson.
At $6.5 million annually, the contract looked reasonable for a rotational power forward. But the Kings soon discovered why “reasonable on paper” rarely survives an NBA training camp.
Injuries Destroyed the Value Proposition
What turned Landry’s deal into the franchise’s worst became clear during the 2013-14 season:
- Missed the first three months recovering from hip surgery
- Tore his meniscus in his right knee in March, requiring season-ending surgery
- Played only 18 games (one start), averaging a career-low 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds
The injury cycle robbed Landry of his explosiveness and lateral quickness — the very attributes that made him valuable. He did manage a partial comeback the following season, appearing in 70 games (15 starts) with 7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, but it was nowhere near the production the contract demanded.
Sacramento traded Landry to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2015 offseason in exchange for the draft rights to Artūras Gudaitis and Luka Mitrović — a return that highlighted just how little value the Kings retained.
The Kings’ Current Financial Picture
Landry’s misstep has been overshadowed by a new generation of massive commitments. The Kings have pledged over $400 million to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis across recent seasons. Fox, a rising star at the time of his extension, was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in February 2024, while Sabonis’ future with Sacramento remains uncertain heading into the 2025 offseason.
Former general manager Monte McNair defended the extensions as warranted, citing Fox’s development and Sabonis’ role in ending the franchise’s 16-year playoff drought in 2023. Yet the calculus shifted quickly — playoff appearances faded, and both stars’ long-term fit came into question.
| Player | Deal | Status |
|---|---|---|
| De’Aaron Fox | Multi-year extension | Traded to Dallas (Feb 2024) |
| Domantas Sabonis | Recent extension | Trade rumors ongoing |
| Carl Landry | 4yr / $26M (2013) | Traded to Philly (2015) |
Will the Kings Repeat This Mistake?
The organization seems wary of another Landry-scale disaster. When Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons became a free-agent candidate, he signed his five-year, $200 million qualifying offer on October 1, 2024 — removing him from Kings’ reach and sidestepping what could have been a contentious negotiation.
Health and regression remain the twin variables that define contract outcomes. Landry’s hip surgery and meniscus tear were unpredictable, but the Kings’ willingness to commit long-term dollars to injury-prone role players — then keep them past the point of production — is a pattern the front office has struggled to break.
As Sacramento evaluates its roster future without Fox and potentially without Sabonis, the Landry contract serves as a reminder that the worst deals are not always the most expensive — they are the ones where the price paid never matches the value delivered.
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