NBA Insider Expects Kings to Trade at Least One of “Big 3”

After DeRozan, it’s really a toss-up who the Kings are more likely to trade between LaVine and Sabonis. If Sabonis does not request to be traded, the pendulum might swing toward Zach LaVine who is owed nearly $48 Million this year and has a player option in 26/27.

NBA executives always have opinions on players on their teams and even opinions on other rosters, and Scott Perry is no exception. In fact, LaVine is a player he had very strong opinions on back in 2023. 

“No question that Zach LaVine can score the basketball,” Perry said in November 2023. “Does he impact winning? LaVine has been to one playoff series in nine years. He’s played a total of four playoff basketball games. I’m looking at playing $40, $43, $46, and $49 million for a guy who to this point has not impacted winning to the level that his money says he should impact.”

Perry has since spoken with LaVine and says “It’s nothing personal” when it comes to the UCLA product. I’m sure it isn’t personal, but with Perry being willing to make big changes to a roster it wouldn’t be that surprising to see him move an expensive player that he doesn’t seem to think “impacts winning.”

To be fair to Perry, it’s not clear that LaVine does impact winning. His win shares per 48 minutes don’t even crack the top 250 in NBA history, while Sabonis is 70th all-time, and DeRozan is 234th. Some of this has to do with the roster construction of LaVine’s past teams and injuries, but it feels pretty damming that he’s 103rd out of 173 eligible players this season as well.

This isn’t to say LaVine isn’t capable of having a big impact, but his issues on the defensive end really limit his ability to contribute to winning basketball. Similar to DeRozan, LaVine’s contract might be a lot more valuable for a team that is already solid defensively and just needs some scoring help. 

Finally we get to Domantas Sabonis. By many metrics, Sabonis is one of the most impactful players of all time. He’s 15th in NBA history in offensive rating, 13th in rebound percentage, 24th in effective field goal percentage, and it’s already been mentioned that he’s 70th all-time in win shares per 48 minutes.

Unfortunately, Sabonis has struggled in the playoffs, which opened the door to the possibility that he may not be the right piece for Sacramento to build around. To be fair to Sabonis, he was dealing with a significant injury on his shooting hand and had Draymond Green do his best Stomp the Yard impression on his chest during the series, but his performance in the Play-In Tournament this year wasn’t pretty either and it is becoming more and more challenging to be successful in the NBA without a rim protecting center. According to Brett Siegel at Clutch Points, Sacramento has not explored trading Sabonis as of now, but things can change fast. 

One thing seems certain, one of the big three will need to be moved if Sacramento expects to even make the Play-In next season and don’t be surprised if Scott Perry makes a move come June 25th.