Domantas Sabonis Hosts Two Young Teammates in Napa

The rumors around the Sacramento Kings are slowing down, with the likelihood of a Jonathan Kuminga trade shrinking everyday, and while the Josh Giddey rumor mill is heating up a touch, that feels unlikely at this point of the offseason as well.

But what we can count on at this point stage of the offseason is that Domantas Sabonis will be in a Kings uniform for his fifth season in Sacramento. While he's as consistent as it gets for an NBA center, his backups behind him have a lot to prove going into next year.

After trading Jonas Valanciunas to the Denver Nuggets for Dario Saric, the Kings are left with young bigs Isaac Jones and Maxime Raynaud fighting for minutes at the backup four or five spots. The Kings also have newly signed free agent Drew Eubanks, but both Jones and Raynaud have more long-term potential to be part of the ongoing rebuild of the roster than Eubanks.

Following his basketball camp in Roseville, Domantas Sabonis was asked about his thoughts on the young duo of Jones and Raynaud, and the All-Star center had kind words for the two bigs following their Summer League performances.

Domantas Sabonis shared that he hosted Maxime Raynaud (and Isaac Jones) at his house in Napa and they got some work in earlier this offseason. https://t.co/V3OYTYE3W4
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) August 10, 2025

"They performed at a high level," Sabonis stated. "I had [Isaac Jones] and Maxime [Raynaud] out in Napa for a week. We're just getting work outs together, and I'm trying to teach the young guys some things."

Domantas Sabonis talks about Doug Christie becoming the Kings' full time head coach, his meeting with new GM Scott Perry, the Kings rookies, working with DeMar DeRozan/Zach LaVine, and more. @ABC10 pic.twitter.com/z0Svv4Wd6a
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) August 10, 2025

It's a great sign that Sabonis is already working with Jones and Raynaud. Jones already has time with the big-league squad and Sabonis, having split his time last year between the Kings and their G-League affiliate Stockton Kings, but this is likely Raynaud's first chance to work with Sabonis.

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) after a dunk against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

It's also one of the reasons that Raynaud wanted to end up in Sacramento. Seen as a possible first-round draft pick by some during the draft process, Raynaud slipped to the Kings at the 42nd pick, but that could have been partly due to Raynaud's camp making a case for Sacramento, with him having a desire to play with and learn from Sabonis.

Raynaud has the potential to blossom into a true stretch-big, but one of the biggest things he can improve on prior to the start of the season is his passing. He showed flashes during Summer League, but averaged just 1.7 assists last season at Stanford. If Raynaud can add in distributing passing to his repertoire, his ceiling will go up exponentially. It's hard to find a better big for him to learn from than Sabonis (aside from Nikola Jokic, of course).

Jones doesn't have as high of a ceiling as Raynaud, but he showed last year that he can be an impactful role player. Also, in this year's Summer League, he carried the Kings to victory to get the team to the championship game.

Both bigs could potentially share the court with Sabonis this season, so the three of them gaining chemistry even before training camp could go a long way leading up to the season. Sabonis hosting the bigs in Napa shows that he is taking his mentorship role seriously going into the season as the Kings continue to build toward the future.

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