The Sacramento Kings came close enough to a Domantas Sabonis trade at the 2026 deadline to make the whole thing feel very real, but the deal never got across the finish line for one simple reason: Toronto couldn’t figure out what to do with Jakob Poeltl.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported Wednesday that the Kings nearly sent Sabonis to the Raptors in February in a move that “he would've welcomed,” with RJ Barrett part of the return. The problem was Poeltl’s contract, which the Raptors were unable to move. That roadblock killed the talks before Sacramento ever had to make the final call.
Poeltl is still owed $19.5 million next season, and his deal grows into a three-year, $84.1 million contract beginning in 2027-28. Over the next four years, he is set to make $103.6 million, a number that made him a tough sell for any team asked to absorb him. Toronto reportedly explored sending that money to a third team, but no partner materialized.
From Sacramento’s side, that was probably the right place for the talks to die. Taking on Poeltl only made sense if the Kings were getting serious draft compensation back, and there’s no indication that was on the table.
Even the Barrett piece came with questions. The 26-year-old wing has ties to Scott Perry and has been steady since entering the league, but it would have been fair to wonder whether Sacramento should be building around him.
There was also the cap-sheet angle, since Barrett is a free agent after the 2026-27 season. In theory, the Kings could have been looking to shed Sabonis’ money and chase flexibility.
But the bigger question hangs right there: why would Sacramento need to create that much room in the first place? The team is not a free agency destination, and the books would have landed at roughly $76 million for 2027-28.
Even with the Raptors talks collapsing, the Sabonis market does not sound like it has gone quiet. Slater reported that Sacramento also tried to send him to the Detroit Pistons in a sign-and-trade for Jalen Duren, but Detroit passed. He added that the Kings held conversations with the Charlotte Hornets and Boston Celtics as well, though neither got very far.
For now, the key development is that Sabonis appears willing to stay engaged. Slater wrote that Sabonis, who has two years and $94 million left on his contract, “has expressed a willingness to recommit and buy-in to this season's team.”
That is a useful outcome for Sacramento, even if the long-term questions are still hanging out there. The Kings may still look for the right Sabonis deal, but they at least avoided dragging a disgruntled star into next season. When healthy, he remains a high-level player, and simply having him on the floor should raise the team’s baseline.
In Other News...
Raptors Face One Contract Problem In Their Push Around Kawhi
The Raptors roster shuffle around Kawhi Leonard has already exposed one of the franchises lingering frontcourt dilemmas. Toronto had explored a deal that would have sent RJ Barrett to Sacramento for Domantas Sabonis, but the Kings pulled back after taking another look at Jakob Poeltls contract, leaving the Raptors to keep sorting through the balance between short-term flexibility and long-term planning.
Poeltl is still expected to open the season as the starting center, but Toronto has not treated his deal as untouchable. The team has continued to look for ways to move the contract, a reminder that even with Leonard back in the fold, the Raptors are still working through the financial and roster consequences of the path they chose, including prioritizing Barrett in their long-term picture. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors New Big Man Signing Comes With An Uncomfortable Warning
The Raptors used their final two-way slot to bring in Trey Jemison III, a frontcourt add who can give the roster some extra size and insurance behind the main rotation. It is the kind of low-risk move teams make when they want another body in the middle, and Jemison comes with at least one encouraging credential from a recent NBA title run with the Knicks.
Still, the fit is not automatically a clean one, which is why this signing carries a bit of an uncomfortable edge for Toronto. New York had a need for backup big men and still did not bring Jemison back, a detail that naturally invites questions about how much impact he can really make for the Raptors as they sort out their depth up front. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Face A Costly Jamal Shead Decision They Can't Miss
Jamal Shead has quickly become more than a spare guard in Torontos rotation, giving the Raptors a steady bench presence and a playmaker they can trust to organize the second unit. In that kind of role, the appeal is obvious: a young guard who already helps the offense function and still has room to grow as his shooting and overall game mature.
For the Raptors, the question is how aggressively to lock him in before the market starts to catch up. A long-term deal in the range of $7 million to $11 million annually would give the team cost control on a useful piece while preserving flexibility elsewhere on the roster, and it would also protect them from having to chase that kind of reliable guard production later at a higher price. [Read more 🡒]