The last thing any NBA franchise needs is a player who thinks they are bigger than the team. Unfortunately, that might be the case with Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings. More and more, it's starting to feel like he is more concerned with his own personal success than anything else.
Sacramento has been trying to trade Sabonis for roughly a year at this point. Based on the fact that he's still on the team, those efforts have been incredibly unsuccessful. There has been limited interest from the rest of the league, all of which has fallen through before going too far.
To make use of him, a team has to be willing to run their offense through Sabonis, which is already a non-starter for many organizations. On top of that, he's a center who doesn't play defense. A team is not going to get much rim protection out of him, which is yet another reason he hasn't been traded.
Then there's the big problem, also known as his contract. Sabonis has two seasons left on his current deal worth well over $90 million. That's a lot of money to pay a center/power forward who doesn't play defense and is only really useful in a very specific offensive setup. None of this is news, though.
The tone in Sacramento has changed this season
What is different is Darius Acuff Jr. The rookie point guard is making waves with his shooting and his passing. In seven games, he's shown quick improvement in both areas. That being said, Acuff also needs to work on his defense. Keep in mind he's only 19, and that will hopefully change with time.
The problem for Sabonis is that the Kings' offensive focus is shifting to Acuff as part of the rebuild. There are rumors that he doesn't like playing with the rookie, though said rumblings are largely unsubstantiated. That being said, it's quite likely that Sabonis is unhappy with his overall situation.
Being that the Kings can't seem to trade him and he's too expensive to buy out, that means he's hanging around for the near future. If Sabonis is legit frustrated with his place on the Kings now, that's not going to get better as things continue to change. He could end up souring the entire locker room.
This is a real problem. Sacramento was already motivated to move Sabonis, but this has to light a real fire under them. The Kings need to lower their asking price and get him out the door as soon as possible. Once Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell are both back, Sabonis has to say goodbye.
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