Conflicting Reports on Raptors' Trade Interest in Domantas Sabonis

While Sabonis could be on the move soon, his situation is very tricky . The Athletic's John Hollinger put it nicely on a recent podcast.

"I do think you have to figure out if there's a market for Sabonis, and I think you're probably going to figure out pretty quickly that there's not," Hollinger said on The Zach Lowe Show. "...Sabonis is a valuable player. He's made All-Star teams. He's very durable. But I just don't know if he's a flavor that a lot of other front offices like, as far as actually building a team around."

However, there was recent life around a potential Sabonis trade when the Toronto Raptors emerged as a suitor.

"The Raptors are one team to keep an eye on in a potential pursuit for Domantas Sabonis if the Kings decide to shift in a different direction," Jake Weinbach reported on X. "Toronto should explore all kinds of different avenues to upgrade the roster with playoff contention in mind next season."

There has been plenty of talk around the Raptors hunting for a star on the trade market this summer, and Sabonis would be a good option for the improving franchise. However, Toronto may not have the interest in Sabonis as initially reported.

Toronto Star's Doug Smith joined The Drive Guys on Monday to admit he has not heard Sabonis' name linked to the Raptors.

"I’ve never heard his name in a conversation with anybody involved with the Raptors for a year and a half," Smith said about Sabonis. "They’re pretty happy with Jakob Poeltl with two years left in his deal at 20 million a year. Sabonis is a great player. No question about it. But I’ve never heard his name linked to Toronto. Anybody who I’ve talked to in the Raptors front office has never talked as a guy as that they would like to pursue."

It seems unlikely that the Kings will actually look to trade Sabonis this offseason; nonetheless that the Raptors have legitimate interest in the three-time All-Star. While there is no question about whether or not the two sides have the pieces to work out a trade if there were interest, and Sabonis would be a good fit in Toronto, this hypothetical deal is unlikely.

The Kings will likely keep Sabonis around, at least until he requests a trade himself, especially because they are so unlikely to get anything of substance in return for him. After trading away star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for Sabonis, who is now on his way to an NBA Finals appearance with the Indiana Pacers, the Kings have already taken a loss in the Sabonis era.