The Sacramento Kings are entering another rebuild, heading into the NBA trade deadline as one of the likeliest sellers on the market. While they have quite a few veterans available, the All-Star generating the most interest is center Domantas Sabonis.
Sam Amick of The Athletic reports that the three teams that have primarily expressed interest in acquiring Sabonis are the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards.
There are, of course, several complicating factors in any potential deal. Sabonis suffered a meniscus tear in November that kept him out of action for two months. While he recently returned to the court for the Kings, he still has not played more than 21 minutes in a game as of Jan. 23. Any team acquiring him would likely want to conduct a thorough examination of his knee and see him return to playing 30-plus minutes per game.
Money is also a real issue here. For a player who is best utilized as a third option on a playoff contender, the salary of Sabonis and the long-term financial commitment to him limit the number of suitors and any potential return for Sacramento.
- Domantas Sabonis contract (Spotrac): $42.336 million cap hit (2025-’26), $45.472 million cap hit (2026-27), $48.608 million cap hit (2027-’28)
Amick notes that the team everyone is keeping an eye on for a potential deal is the Raptors. Toronto would need to make the money work, but it could include RJ Barrett who is owed $57.3 million over the next two seasons. As Amick notes, Barrett was originally drafted by Kings general manager Scott Perry when he made those decisions in New York.
It’s possible that Toronto could package Barrett and center Jakob Poeltl in a deal for Sabonis. However, it’s unclear if the Kings would be willing to take on the long-term money owed to Poeltl, who has struggled to stay health and is under contract through 2029-30 at a $28.02 million average annual value.
