The Sacramento Kings’ early-season slide has only sharpened the noise around Domantas Sabonis, and two familiar names are back in the conversation: the Toronto Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets.
On the latest Clutch Scoops show, insider Jake Fischer said both teams were in the mix for Sabonis trade talks last year, and he doesn’t see that interest fading.
“Two teams that looked to trade for him last year and had those trade conversations were the Toronto Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets,” Siegel said on the latest Clutch Scoops show. “The interest has not gone away.
I can speak to that with certainty here. There's been no new dialogue to report here but those are two teams that we're keeping an eye on.”
The Kings, who have opened the season with just one win in eight games, have been expected to keep exploring ways to move Sabonis as they push deeper into a rebuild. Fischer also explained why nothing got done with Toronto or Charlotte a year ago.
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In Toronto’s case, Sacramento didn’t want to absorb Jakob Poeltl’s contract and couldn’t find a third team willing to take on the three years and $84 million left on the deal. As for Charlotte, the Kings were asking for too much - lottery picks in the 2026 NBA Draft - and the Hornets weren’t willing to meet that price.
The Raptors could look different now. Poeltl has struggled badly to start the 2026-27 season, and Collin Murray-Boyles still hasn’t locked down a spot in the starting five. Toronto also has the kind of defenders that could help hide Sabonis on the other end, and with Kawhi Leonard now in the fold, the team is operating in win-now mode.
Charlotte could be a different kind of fit, but the urgency might be there too. The Hornets currently own the NBA’s worst offense, and after losing LaMelo Ball and with Kon Knueppel sidelined by injury, they need an offensive centerpiece. If the losses keep piling up, a swing for Sabonis could become a real possibility.
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Kevin OConnor flagged the Hornets poor shooting efficiency and bad body language as part of the bigger concern, and the issues have only been magnified by injuries to Kon Knueppel and Brandon Millers uneven play relative to his contract. For a team already trying to prove it can build around LaMelo Ball, the early slide makes every decision feel heavier, especially when the offense is this stagnant and the margin for error is already shrinking. [Read more 🡒]