Domantas Sabonis Dismisses Kings Trade Rumors With Blunt Response

The first week of training camp is in the books, and the Sacramento Kings continue the crawl to the 2026-27 NBA season with a renewed sense of energy. It's the beauty of training camp, every year. No matter how little the expectations are for a team, and they are certainly low for the Kings, there's hope that things will fall their way as the new season gets underway.

Many thought Domantas Sabonis would be with a new team after being in trade rumors all offseason, and the Kings were heavily pursuing restricted free-agent Jalen Duren, but the All-NBA center is back for another season in Sacramento as no trades came to fruition. On Monday's media day, Sabonis was asked if he felt like anything had changed for himself after the offseason of rumors, and if he could see himself in Sacramento long-term.

“I can’t control any of it. The injury helped. I was just focused on getting healthy. A lot of things are being said out there, but I have a great relationship with Scott [Perry]. I have great agents. I know everything that’s going on. And I’m excited I’m here, I'm healthy, and tomorrow we have training camp.”

Domantas Sabonis on the trade rumors:

"A lot of things are being said out there, but I have a great relationship with [Kings GM Scott Perry]. I have great agents. I know everything that’s going on. And I’m excited I’m here. It’s all made up. I don’t know where you guys get most… pic.twitter.com/1t5RnX9ZKp
— Kalshi NBA (@KalshiNBA) October 3, 2026

Sabonis was also asked about how he was dealing with those distractions from the offseason, and gave an answer with a smile on his face, saying how easy it is to put them aside and focus on basketball.

“Easy. It’s all made up," Sabonis stated. “It’s all out there. I don’t know where you guys get most of it from. I’m there with Scott, with my agent, so I’m not on social media as much. So it's easy. I got my kids, and just focus."

Return To Form?

Feb 8, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis (11) dunks the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Kings weren't shy about trying to trade Sabonis this offseason, but the most important part of the statements is that Sabonis is healthy and ready to go for the upcoming season. If the Kings want to shock the NBA world, Sabonis returning to All-NBA form would go a long way toward that feat.

Thinking long-term for the Kings, if Sabonis shows that he can share the court with second-year big man Maxime Raynaud and Sacramento does in fact exceed expectations, an extension and continued pairing between the Kings and Sabonis should at least be on the table. It's a wild thing to think about following an offseason where everyone expects Sabonis to either be gone by now, or soon to come.

But it's important to remember that it wasn't long ago that he was one of the best centers in all of basketball. He'll have to show it on the court, but that certainly should help the Kings outpace their 22-win season from last year.

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