The Curious Case of Domantas Sabonis' Trade Value

Since the minute he took over as general manager for the Sacramento Kings, it's been no secret that Scott Perry is looking into moving the veterans that are on the roster. Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Malik Monk were all on the trading block last offseason, and that appears to be the case once again.

Jake Fischer, of the Stein Line and Bleacher Report, reported that the Kings are projected to make Sabonis available once again this summer as they look to shed salary.

Domantas Sabonis is expected to be available for trade, per @JakeLFischer

“The Kings' former All-Star center is another name, behind Antetokounmpo and Memphis' Ja Morant, that league executives are projecting to be made available once again as part of this summer's trade… pic.twitter.com/u9QaOZuPRF
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 6, 2026

The former All-NBA center is set to make $45.5 million next year and $48.6 million the following season, but with the Kings at the bottom of the standings, it doesn't make sense to have such expensive veterans on the team. The issue is that the expensive contracts make it extremely difficult for the veterans to be traded. It's not a coincidence that every one of the Kings' veterans that was on the trading block last season is still on the team.

But unlike LaVine and his large contract, it feels like Sabonis still has some trade value that the Kings could take advantage of; it's just incredibly hard to gauge what that value is.

The Raptors Deal

The Kings and Toronto Raptors were reportedly close to a deal during last season's trade deadline. But with the Kings not wanting to take on Jakob Poeltl's contract, which was both expensive and long, the deal never came to fruition, and Sabonis finished the year in Sacramento.

The deal was mainly centered around RJ Barrett, who is a solid basketball player by NBA standards, but he's not an All-Star or a young player who could blossom into a star. And the Kings reportedly weren't going to get a haul of picks for Sabonis, either. The picks they were asking for were centered more on taking back Poeltl's contract than in exchange for Sabonis' talent.

It would have been an interesting deal had it happened, but it's not the league-shattering move that would have rocked the NBA landscape that you normally see when All-NBA players are traded.

Playstyle

Apr 16, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) passes the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Part of what makes Sabonis' trade value so hard to gauge is his unique playstyle. He makes a lot of money, doesn't shoot many threes, and struggles on defense. He's not the type of player who can be put in any system and thrive. But when he's in a system that's built around him, like we saw with all of the dribble handoffs and offense running through him on the Kings for their Beam Team run, he can thrive and be one of the best players in the league.

But not many teams are set up to run their offense through their center. Sabonis certainly has the talent to help almost every team in the league, but he doesn't have the fit and playstyle to be dropped in a new city and be the missing piece to help take a contender to the finals. That inherently drops his trade value by taking so many teams out of the running.

Are the Kings the Problem

At the same time, the Kings are such a mess that it could be said that they are the problem, not Sabonis. Sacramento's roster certainly hasn't been built to maximize Sabonis' talent over the last three years.

That's the type of sales pitch Perry can bring to the table when talking with other GMs. Sabonis may not fit on the Kings right now, but if he can convince teams that Sabonis is still one of the most talented players in the league, he could make his first major move in Sacramento to move off one of the veterans from the Monte McNair era.

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