The Sacramento Kings may be drifting toward a bigger reset than they first let on, and Domantas Sabonis sits right at the center of that uncertainty.
Sacramento has already reshaped its young core this offseason around rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr., but the presence of veterans Zach LaVine and Sabonis in the starting lineup still makes the roster feel unfinished. Now there’s growing buzz that Sabonis’s run with the Kings could be nearing its end, especially after ESPN’s Brian Windhorst raised eyebrows over the big man’s decision to change agents this summer.
“I do think it’s somewhat interesting that he changed agents this offseason," Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast. "He hired Aaron Mintz from CAA.
This last year, Mintz and his group executed the trade for Trae Young away from Atlanta. They executed the trade for Walker Kessler away from [the Jazz].
Domantas Sabonis just hired him. At the risk of parodying myself, why would he do that?”
That kind of speculation naturally sends the conversation to the trade board, and three teams stand out as possible landing spots.
Detroit is the first place that comes into focus. The Pistons are still trying to work through a deal with restricted free agent Jalen Duren, and Sacramento has surfaced as a possible sign-and-trade partner. In that scenario, the Kings would likely have to send Sabonis and at least one first-round pick to Detroit in exchange for the 22-year-old center.
It would be a bold swing, but the logic is easy to see. Sacramento would get a younger center to grow alongside Acuff Jr. and the rest of the team’s developing pieces, while Detroit would add a proven All-Star big to keep itself competitive.
Even so, this remains more of a long shot than a sure thing. If any team is going to make a serious run at Duren this offseason, though, it’s the Kings.
Toronto is another name that keeps hanging around Sabonis. The Raptors were seen as his most likely destination at the 2025-26 trade deadline, and even though the landscape has changed, they still aren’t out of the picture. Toronto is on the verge of officially landing superstar forward Kawhi Leonard, and that move could actually make the team more willing to add another star big man.
The Kings nearly moved Sabonis to Toronto at the deadline in a deal built around RJ Barrett, but it collapsed because the Raptors couldn’t move Jakob Poeltl’s contract. A fresh conversation could look different now. Sacramento could ask for Barrett again, or for Poeltl plus draft capital, depending on how the market develops.
For Toronto, the appeal is obvious: a frontcourt built around Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Sabonis would give the Raptors a serious punch in the Eastern Conference. It may not feel as inevitable as it did at the deadline, but Toronto still belongs on the short list.
Phoenix is the third team worth watching. The Suns have been linked to Sabonis before, and while they’re in a strange place themselves, that doesn’t mean they’re out of the running. They could put together a package featuring Jalen Green, Mark Williams, Miles Bridges, and Ryan Dunn if they decided to make a real push.
A Suns offer could end up being the most interesting one on the table, even if the fit isn’t perfect. Phoenix could imagine a group led by Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Sabonis, though that still doesn’t look like enough to truly threaten in the West. Even so, with the Suns lacking a clear direction, this is exactly the kind of move they might be willing to make.
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Kings Fans Just Got Another Brutal Reminder Of Their Team's Climb
The Kings rebuild has already asked for patience, but the last two decades have made that a tough sell to a weary fan base. Since Rick Adelmans departure, Sacramento has managed only one playoff appearance, a stretch defined by postseason droughts, front-office turnover and constant searching for the right direction, even as managing owner Vivek Ranadive has stayed in place for 13 years and GM Scott Perry has tried to push the roster toward something sturdier.
Still, the latest outside view was a harsh one. Bleacher Report projects Sacramento to sit last in its power rankings over the next three seasons, a reminder that progress in this market is still being measured against a long climb. The organization continues to treat this as a long-term build, and Perrys recent draft and roster work has drawn some optimism, but the broader picture remains clear: the Kings are still trying to prove they can turn incremental movement into real staying power. [Read more 🡒]
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The Kings head into the 2026-27 season with the kind of roster clarity that usually only comes after a team has already made its choices. Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, De'Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis are expected to form the starting group, and with the roster mostly settled, the focus in Sacramento has shifted from adding pieces to seeing what this group can become. In a rebuild, that changes the definition of success fast. Wins still matter, but so does whether the young players in the room actually move the franchise forward.
Keegan Murray sits at the center of that evaluation. His new contract starts this season, which gives the Kings both a financial commitment and a clear measuring stick for how far this rebuild can go. Projections around the team range from roughly 20 wins to 40, a reminder that the floor and ceiling are still wide apart. For Sacramento, the real pressure point is not just where the record lands, but whether the young core develops enough to make the next step feel real. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Monks Kings Role Feels Like A Rebuild Clue
Malik Monk is still in Sacramento, and that alone says something about where the Kings are headed. After trade buzz followed him through the 2025 offseason and then again at the 2026 deadline, he has stayed put, with two years left on his deal and a player option on the final season. For a Kings team that has not made any notable recent moves around him, Monks presence feels less like business as usual and more like a decision to keep one of its more movable pieces close for now.
The question is what comes next, because retaining Monk does not necessarily mean the front office is done weighing its options. Sacramento may be looking at this season as a chance to let him boost his trade value before the 2027 deadline, especially if the market shifts again. No official plan has been announced, but the longer he remains in place, the more he looks like part of a rebuild calculation rather than just a stable rotation choice. [Read more 🡒]