About a month before the beginning of the gathering this fall, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Tim McMahon and Anthony Slater discussed Damantas Sabonis‘ future during an episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, noting that The necklaces center changed agents during the offseason, recruiting Aaron Mintz and Stephen Hoiman CAA Sports.
As ESPN reporters noted at the time, Mintz and Hoiman are also representing Walker Kessler and Trey Young and recently helped guide these clients to new teams, ready to sign them to lucrative new contracts. Kessler was signed and traded from the Jazz to the Lakers, who gave him a four-year, $129.5 million contract, while Young was traded from Atlanta to Washington in January and then received a four-year, $212.8 million commitment from the Wizards.
During a podcast discussion over the summer, Windhorst, McMahon and Slater suggested that Sabonis is likely looking to go down a similar path and the Kings are reluctant to negotiate an extension.
NBA insider Jake Fisher reiterated that point this week during his latest live for Bleacher Report. According to Fisher, when Sabonis was looking for new representation in the offseason, he was focused on finding an agent who could not only get him a lucrative new contract, but also find the right team to give him one, as that seems increasingly unlikely in Sacramento.
Previous reports indicated that Sabonis has a good relationship with the Kings front office, which is led by the general manager Scott Perry and required no trade from Sacramento. But there has been speculation this fall that the big man’s desire to find a new home may have intensified, with some observers pointing to comments he made during the first week of the season as evidence he doesn’t like playing a rookie guard. Darius Acuff Jr
Asked during an Oct. 22 media session — after the Game 1 loss — what the Kings’ offense needed to do to look better, Sabonis said: “Move the ball. Give me more of the ball so I can swing it and get guys open. We’ve been doing a lot of one-pass shots, pick-and-rolls without passing the ball. Those numbers are really high. I feel like we’re better when we kind of mix it up — point guard, point guard, point guard, point guard on me, then I can make the read. That’s what I’m best at.” (Link to video on Twitter).
While those remarks were easily interpreted as a shot at the new quarterback, Brandon Nunes of Sactown Sports 1140 (Link to Twitter) hears from a team source that the idea Sabonis doesn’t like playing with Acuff “couldn’t be further from the truth,” adding that the two players have been “communicating great.” Fisher also said during his Bleacher Report live broadcast this week that he thinks speculation about chemistry issues between Sabonis and Acuff are “overblown.”
Even if Sabonis is comfortable playing with Acuff, it seems the addition of the explosive rookie guard hasn’t made him more eager to perform with the rebuilding Kings. McMahon said as much when he and Windhorst revisited the topic on a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast.
“Honestly, Sabonis wants to get out of there, and if they can move him, they will.” McMahon said during this segment (Link to video on Twitter).
Windhorst interjected to say that the Kings could move Sabonis now if they really wanted to. But as Fisher revealed during his live broadcast, Perry and the front office are determined to get positive value for the three-time All-Star, while many competing executives view his contract as a negative. The 30-year-old, who missed most of last season with a torn meniscus, will make $45.5 million this season with a guaranteed salary of $48.6 million next season.
Sabonis is a talented scorer, rebounder and playmaker, but he’s not the kind of center who will protect the rim and anchor the team’s defense. He would also be a difficult fit on some rosters as he is at his best when he functions as the center of the offense. To get the most out of him, some clubs will need to rework their attacking plans.
The Hornets and Raptors are among the teams that have been linked to Sabonis in the offseason, and the Kings are reportedly looking for a mid-first-round pick in either trade option. Charlotte controlled the 14th and 18th overall picks in this year’s draft, while Toronto had the 19th pick.
However, the Hornets ended up not wanting to match Sacramento’s asking price and ended up trading for the forward/center Naz Reed instead. Discussions with Toronto reportedly hit a snag in part because the Kings weren’t interested Jacob Poeltlfour-year contract worth $103.6 million.
Sabonis figures to be back on the trade block before this season ends on Feb. 11, and if he has a healthy and productive first half, his value should be higher than it was in the summer when he was coming off knee surgery. But its US$45 million cap will continue to complicate trade negotiations, especially with any trading partners operating in tax and/or platform territory. The Kings themselves will face the luxury tax and won’t really be able to get any additional salary in the Sabonis deal.
We want to know what you think. Will Sabonis be traded this season? If not, will it be in motion next summer? Which team(s) do you think would be best for him/her?
Head to the comments section below to share your two cents!