The Domantas Sabonis situation in Sacramento is not going away, and the latest reporting suggests it might not get resolved quickly either.
Jake Fischer, reporting for Bleacher Report, has continued to link Sabonis to the Charlotte Hornets while noting the obvious complication: Sacramento wants what Fischer described as positive trade value in return, and there is not a long line of teams eager to absorb the roughly $94 million Sabonis is owed over the next two seasons.
That number is the whole story. Sabonis carries a cap hit north of $45 million this season. Two years ago that would have been a fair price for a big man who put up gaudy numbers and controlled the glass. After a 2025-26 season in which knee problems limited him to 19 games, front offices are treating it as a risk instead of an asset.
Fischer has also reported that Sabonis wants out. He switched agents this summer, which is usually the tell. He is extension eligible, and in the current second-apron environment a player in that position wants clarity now rather than a walk into free agency.
Why Charlotte Keeps Coming Up
The Hornets have the mechanism most teams lack. Charlotte generated a large trade exception in the LaMelo Ball deal with Minnesota, the same trade that brought Naz Reid to the Hornets. Charlotte also cleared money by sending Miles Bridges to Phoenix in July.
Fischer previously reported around the 2026 draft that Charlotte and Sacramento had talked about Sabonis, with those conversations characterized as exploratory. The Hornets were shopping for proven size. Sabonis is proven size.
The problem is fit, or more precisely, timeline. Charlotte just moved its franchise point guard. Adding a 30-year-old center on a max-adjacent contract who wants an extension is the opposite of what a rebuilding team should be doing with its cap sheet. Reid is already on the roster. Paying premium money for another frontcourt piece who does not stretch the floor is how good rebuilds turn into mediocre rosters.
What Sacramento Should Actually Want
The Kings went 22-60 last season. That is not a team that is one veteran big away from anything. Sacramento should be collecting draft equity and young players, and if that means attaching a sweetener to move Sabonis instead of receiving one, so be it.
Insisting on positive value for a player who missed most of last season with knee trouble is a negotiating posture, not a plan. Every rival executive can read the same medical file the Kings can. Holding firm just means the price drops again in February.
There is a version of this where waiting works. If Sabonis comes back healthy, plays 25 games at the level that made him a multiple-time All-Star and one of the best rebounders of his era, the market changes overnight. Fischer has noted that Sacramento may struggle to move him until he is back on the floor looking like himself. A contender losing a center in December will suddenly be much more flexible about salary.
Our read: a trade happens, but not this month. Sacramento will hold into the season, watch Sabonis play, and revisit closer to the February deadline when injuries create urgency somewhere. Charlotte remains the cleanest financial fit, though I would rather the Hornets pass and keep the exception for a younger target.
Should the Kings trade him? Yes, and they should stop pretending they have leverage they do not have. A 22-60 team with an unhappy 30-year-old center on a nine-figure commitment is not in position to be picky. Take the best package of picks and young players available and start over honestly.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
