{"id":469043,"date":"2026-09-19T12:25:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T12:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/469043\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T12:25:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T12:25:05","slug":"sacramento-kings-rumors-insider-reveals-big-hurdle-preventing-domantas-sabonis-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/469043\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento Kings Rumors: Insider Reveals Big Hurdle Preventing Domantas Sabonis Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sacramento Kings<\/a> entered the offseason hopeful of trading either Zach LaVine or Domantas Sabonis to shed payroll and focus on building around their youth next season. While Sabonis has some trade interest around the league, there is one issue that continues to complicate moving him.<\/p>\n

In a recent live stream for Bleacher Report, NBA insider Jake Fischer said the Kings\u2019 front office still has a \u201csteep\u201d asking price in Sabonis trade talks and how there\u2019s a \u201cdisconnect\u201d between how they value him versus how other NBA teams do.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, there\u2019s going to be continued disconnect between the Kings wanting to get back positive value and draft compensation for Sabonis compared to other teams not so eager to give Sabonis the contract extension he\u2019s looking for. \u201cI\u2019m skeptical of this juncture how much market there were for Sabonis at the Kings\u2019 current asking price. I don\u2019t think Charlotte is really motivated to meet that Kings\u2019 asking price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: Why a Domantas Sabonis-Jalen Duren Trade Looks Even More Realistic<\/a><\/p>\n

Domantas Sabonis contract (Spotrac<\/a>): $45.472 million salary for 2026-27 season, $48.608 million salary for 2027-28 season<\/p>\n

While Sabonis is a three-time All-Star selection and made the All-NBA Third Team in consecutive seasons from 2023-24, he comes with limitations. NBA teams view him as more of a third option on the court for playoff contenders and he\u2019s a liability defensively.<\/p>\n

With the NBA\u2019s second apron already significantly limiting how general managers build their rosters, managing cap space effectively has become more imperative. Sabonis might have slightly more value if he was on an expiring contract, but any acquiring team would be on the hook for a $48.6 million salary beginning in the 2027-28 season and Sabonis might want a contract extension.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sacramento sees a player who has led the NBA in rebounding in three consecutive seasons and who can be a perennial All-Star reserve thanks to his scoring and work on the glass. Furthermore, at a time when new NBA rules penalize teams who finish at the bottom of the standings with lower draft lottery odds, Sabonis gives the Kings a better shot at winning more games so they get higher odds of getting the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

Realistically, the Kings will keep Sabonis through January with the expectation that the All-Star center is the ideal complementary player to support rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr as he settles into his NBA career.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Kings\u2019 Darius Acuff Jr. Draws NBA Comparison to Future Hall of Famer<\/a><\/p>\n

By the time the NBA trade deadline rolls around on Feb. 11, 2027, there could be a few more suitors for Sabonis. By then, if a late first-round pick is offered and Sacramento does not have to absorb a long-term deal (Jakob Poeltl), it is possible that Sabonis spends the rest of the season elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tMatt Johnson is Senior Editor of NFL and College Football for Sportsnaut. His work, including weekly NFL and college … More about Matt Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sacramento Kings entered the offseason hopeful of trading either Zach LaVine or Domantas Sabonis to shed payroll…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[8874,121,123,128,122],"class_list":["post-469043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-nba-news","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-kings","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}