Two seasons after the Sacramento Kings ended a 17-year playoff drought and “Light the Beam” chants took over the Golden 1 Center, the last flicker of excitement has been extinguished for the foreseeable future. Floundering at .500 more than halfway through the season, the Kings traded star guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio after he informed the team he would not sign an extension–a polite way to demand out.
The Fox trade happened after the firing of head coach Mike Brown and before the recent dismissal of general manager Monte McNair in a season that never found anchor. Instead, certainty drifted ever further out to sea. Without a true point guard, Sacramento’s offense devolved into a mess of disconnected parts. To address this need, they are looking to trade franchise center Domantas Sabonis. Odds are already out indicating the most likely landing spots for the three-time All-Star.
Sacrament Kings’ Discombobulated Offense in Dire Need of Glue Guy at the Point
In the Fox trade, which also involved the Bulls, the Kings received Chicago guard Zach LaVine along with a boatload of draft picks. While LaVine’s individual value is not far from that of Fox, the move left the team without a point guard. Instead, the offense was run by a triumvirate of shooting guard Malik Monk, LaVine, and forward DeMar DeRozan.
To the Kings’ credit, they stayed afloat well enough to finish 40-42 and make the play-in tournament as the 9-seed. With Monk out injured for the win-or-go-home faceoff against Dallas, Sacramento was humiliated 120-106 as around 5-point favorites.
Although they slapped together a serviceable offense down the stretch, it was all too clear that the roster lacked a true floor general. Ironically enough, the most available avenue to obtaining one is by trading Sabonis–the centerpiece four years ago of the Kings-Pacers trade that saw Sacramento send away Tyrese Haliburton to maximize Fox’s growth. Fox is an elite clutch scorer and capable facilitator, but Haliburton is a point guard’s point guard: just the type of player the Kings so desperately need. Every season in Indiana, he has averaged 9-plus assists.
If that wasn’t irony enough, the Pacers are also the favorites to land Sabonis in a trade.
Domantas Sabonis Sweepstakes Leaderboard
Sabonis is only one year into the four-year, $186 million contract he signed with the Kings. In his 9th season in the league, the soon-to-be 29-year-old Lithuanian averaged 19.1 points, a career-high 13.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists on 59/42/75% shooting splits.
After beginning his career with the Thunder, Sabonis spent four and a half seasons in Indiana before being traded to Sacramento in 2021-22. Per Bovada sportsbook, the Pacers are favored to snag him at +600 odds.
Although they top the leaderboard, however, other suitors trail not far behind. Charlotte is +700 and Portland +800 while Toronto, Phoenix and Washington all come in at +1000 or higher.
There is, of course, the possibility that Sabonis stays put–during this offseason at least–but given the Kings’ lack of competitive direction, a retooling period, if not a full-blown rebuild, seems likely. Moving on from Sabonis is the natural first step in unloading future salary and developing a new core.
For fans, though, the prospect of a rebuild cannot be easy to stomach even if they endorse it. During the playoff drought, the Kings failed to reach .500 in 16 of 16 seasons. Now, with an interim coach (Doug Christie), a newly hired GM (Scott Perry), no point guard and, quite possibly, a soon-to-be dismantled roster, the franchise is as unmoored as ever. Hopefully the Kings can return to postseason contention a bit quicker than last time.
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