Trade chatter around Domantas Sabonis isn’t cooling off anytime soon, and Brian Windhorst just added another layer to the speculation.
On an episode of The Hoops Collective podcast, Windhorst brought up Sabonis while discussing Jalen Duren’s free agency, pointing to the Sacramento center’s offseason agent switch as something to watch. Sabonis hired Aaron Mintz of CAA, along with Steve Heumann in that group, whom Windhorst described as “one of the top executives at CAA.”
Windhorst then connected that move to Mintz’s recent work on high-profile exits:
“This last year, Mintz and his group executed the trade for Trae Young away from Atlanta, executed the trade for Walker Kessler away from the Lakers.”
That set up a blunt response from fellow panelist and ESPN journalist Tim McMahon, who spelled out the subtext with: “Cause he wants to get the hell out of SAC.”
Sabonis has already been a fixture in trade rumors for the past couple of years as the Kings have struggled since their 2023 playoff appearance. In June, he was linked to the Charlotte Hornets in a deal that would have sent Miles Bridges to Sacramento, according to a report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Bridges later ended up with the Phoenix Suns on June 28.
The Kings landed Sabonis in 2022 in the trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana, and he quickly became one of the franchise’s core pieces. Working alongside De'Aaron Fox, he helped push Sacramento back to the postseason in 2023.
Since then, though, the momentum has faded. The Kings have slipped out of contention, and Sabonis has dealt with significant injury problems over the last year. He played in just 19 games this season and put up career-low marks across the board, finishing at 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
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