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Jan 5, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis (11) warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

NBA Insiders Reveal Harsh Truth About Sabonis' Trade Value

Originally posted on Sacramento Kings on SI
By Will Zimmerle | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 2:05 PM ET

As the offseason slowly comes to an end, eyes are beginning to turn to next season with previews around the league. For the Sacramento Kings, that conversation and analysis is pretty bleak heading into the 2025-26 season.

Tim Bontempts and Tim MacMahon joined Brian Windhorst on ESPN's The Hoop Collective to preview the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and their rundown on the Kings wasn't very encouraging.

Nothing they said was wrong or unfair, as the Kings have an unbalanced roster that is unlikely to truly compete in the West. A lot of the conversation centered around Dennis Schröder and his recent EuroBasket performance, but the NBA Insiders also got on the topic of Domantas Sabonis, with the main question being what Sabonis' trade value on his current contract would be if he were to request a trade.

Sabonis is owed a significant amount of money over the next three seasons, earning $42.3 million, $45.5 million, and $48.6 million each season, respectively. That's a lot of money for a player that some are starting to question if he can be a ture number one on a team.

"He's a very good player, but he is an undersized five that doesn't really protect the rim and can't shoot," Bontempts stated. And while Sabonis drastically improved his three point shooting last season, Bontempts does have a great point in terms of Sabonis' shooting volume.

Sabonis improved to 41.7% from three last season, but it was on just 2.2 attempts per game. That was double his 1.1 attempts during the 2023-24 season, but just over two attempts is low enough that teams don't need to worry about guarding Sabonis on the perimeter.

David Butler II-Imagn Images

It's the combination of lack of volume shooting and interior defense that makes it so hard to build a team around Sabonis. There's no denying he's one of the most talented centers in the league, but Sabonis takes a very specific type of roster build to maximize his talent, mainly shooters and a shot-blocking partner in the front court.

"He has to play the five, but then there's a pretty low ceiling in terms of playoff success with him as your five," MacMahon added. The Kings appeared to have the right build figured out with shooters in the Beam Team season, but they haven't been able to put together a coherent roster around their star center since. And even in that playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Sabonis' struggles were key, to MacMahon's point.

That's a hard fit to find on the trade market, especially when you take the money into account. He's a great player, but needs a very specific offense and play style to maximize his talent.

A lot is up in the air for Sabonis and his future with the Kings as we enter the season. It feels like any outcome wouldn't be a surprise. Him requesting a trade would make sense from his desire to be on a more stable, winning franchise, and the Kings deciding to trade him on their own accord would also make sense to quickly start their retooling under Scott Perry.

Or in the end, Perry and Doug Christie could continue to build around Sabonis throughout the tenure of his contract and give it another chance as they surround their All-NBA center with better role players. But one thing seems certain: if Sabonis does get traded one way or another, he may not get the return many around Sacramento would hope for.

This article first appeared on Sacramento Kings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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