If it feels like the Sacramento Kings and Domantas Sabonis have been dancing around a trade forever, they kinda have been. There is still a chance of a move to the Raptors happening, but they need to drop Jakob Poeltl from the deal. The Kings won't and shouldn't take his contract on.
As one of the most expensive players on the roster, Sabonis presents a huge issue for the Kings. It's hard to chase free agents for the rebuild with large amounts of money tied up in both Sabonis and Zach LaVine. It has severely limited the kind of moves general manager Scott Perry can make.
At least in the case of LaVine, the end is in sight as his contract is done with the 2026-2027 season. Unfortunately for Sacramento, Sabonis has another year left on his contract after that, meaning he won't be a free agent until the 2028 offseason. That's a bit of a problem for the team.
The obivious solution is a trade, but Sabonis' cost far exceeds his value, despite being one of the better big men in the league. Toronto came close to a trade at the 2026 deadline. It didn't work out because the Raptors wouldn't budge unless the Kings took on Poeltl's even more ridiculous contract.
The Catch-22 created by the Poeltl scenario
For Sacramento, the whole point of moving Sabonis is getting out from under an albatross of a contract. Poeltl's contract is even worse. He's got four years left on it with the last three seasons being worth an average of $28 million each. Plus, Poeltl simply isn't as good a center as Sabonis.
The Raptors are still rumored to be interested in Sabonis. This may be even more important to Toronto now with the return of Kawhi Leonard. This duo would make for a dynamic offensive combination, though Scottie Barnes would have to work overtime on defense to make up for them.
As desperate as the Kings are to move on from Sabonis, it's hard to see a scenario play out where they take on Poeltl. They would be better off keeping Sabonis around. Plus, the Raptors played a lot of their trade capital getting Leonard back, making Poeltl a necessary part of any Sabonis move.
If the the Kings and Raptors do want to pull this off, they need to involve a third team to take on Poeltl's contract. That means the Raptors likely end up giving up even more draft picks, something they probably don't want to do for Sabonis at this point. Without a miracle, this trade isn't happening.
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