The Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets have reopened conversations about three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, though both sides appear content to let the talks simmer past the June 23 draft.
The Athletic's Sam Amick first reported the contact. "Per league sources, Sacramento and Charlotte have had recent talks about Kings big man Domantas Sabonis. While a deal is not imminent and appears unlikely before the June 23 draft, sources say the Hornets have some interest in the 30-year-old, three-time All-Star," Amick wrote. The sticking point, he added, is timing and price: "The problem for now, it seems, is that the Kings have been hoping to land one of Charlotte's two first-round picks (they have Nos. 14 and 18) in the deal, and the Hornets have signaled a desire to retain their picks and discuss Sabonis later in the summer."
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported a framework that would send Miles Bridges, Josh Green and a first-round pick to Sacramento for Sabonis, but Charlotte has resisted attaching either of its 2026 first-rounders. Evan Sidery, formerly of Forbes, echoed that the Hornets would rather build a package out of expiring contracts than surrender a pick, while believing Sabonis could lift a young core built around LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
For Sacramento, the math is about assets, not addition. James Ham, the Kings insider for ESPN 1320 and host of Locked On Kings, framed Sabonis as the most movable piece on a roster general manager Scott Perry is trying to retool. "I think Sabonis, out of all of their larger contract players, still has the most value," Ham said, ranking the big man ahead of DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk.
Ham cautioned that Sabonis should not be treated as salary filler. "A trade like that would cost at least one first-round pick, and possibly two, according to my source," he said. "You're not just going to dump an All-NBA player." He argued the appeal for the Kings is the chance to stockpile picks and climb the draft board: collect the 14th and 18th selections, pair them with Sacramento's own No. 7 pick, and a move up becomes possible.
Sabonis is coming off the most difficult season of his career. He averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists across a career-low 19 appearances in 2025-26 before undergoing season-ending knee surgery, a sharp drop in availability for a player who led the NBA in rebounding two years ago and made All-NBA third team in both 2023 and 2024. That injury, and the contract that runs alongside it, is part of why his trade value has cooled.
He is not a new name on the market. Sabonis was linked to the Toronto Raptors before February's trade deadline, and the Hornets first checked in around the same time. What has changed is Sacramento's posture: a franchise that once built around Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox is now openly weighing how much of its core to take apart.
Whether anything closes before Tuesday's draft is another question. Both Amick and Ham suggested the more likely outcome is that the framework gets parked until later in the summer, when free agency reshuffles the board and Charlotte has a clearer read on its own picks.
