There has been a lot of smoke surrounding Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis and the Toronto Raptors as Thursday’s NBA trade deadline quickly approaches.
On the heels of Saturday’s trade that sent defensive guard Keon Ellis and backup point guard Dennis Schroder to the Cleveland Cavaliers in return for forward De’Andre Hunter, Sacramento continues to work the phones as they look to make changes to a roster that currently owns the worst record in the NBA.
Sabonis, who has been one of the driving forces behind the Kings’ return to relevance in recent seasons, may be the next player on the move for Sacramento, though nothing is imminent as of Wednesday morning.
Talks between Sacramento and Toronto, a surprise team in the Eastern Conference this season, are ongoing, but hurdles remain if an agreement is going to take shape.
More on Domantas Sabonis trade talks with the Raptors
Outside of the Raptors’ hope of offloading veteran center Jakob Poeltl, who is due to make $107 million over the next four seasons, draft compensation remains a sticking point for Sacramento.
The Kings are unlikely to have interest in obtaining Poeltl in return for Sabonis, as they already have two centers–rookies Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell–on the roster for a potential rebuild. This means a third team could emerge in these talks, one that could absorb the big man into its cap sheet in return for draft compensation.
For Sacramento, though, a team that received only one unprotected future first-round pick (2031 via Minnesota) for De’Aaron Fox a year ago, adding another first-round pick at this deadline almost seems necessary as they look towards the future.
NBA insider Chris Haynes shared his latest intel on NBA TV, stating that there is still a pathway to a deal, but the Kings aren’t blinking on a first-round pick for Domantas Sabonis.
Chris Haynes says that the hold-up in the Domantas Sabonis trade is the inclusion of 1st round pick compensation rather than the 2nds that the Raptors are offering.
(H/t @0uttis) (@ChrisBHaynes)
pic.twitter.com/nGSzuwZxu0
— Kings Lead (@KingsLeadSM) February 4, 2026
“There’s been an ongoing conversation between the Sacramento Kings and the Toronto Raptors for well over a month, and I still think there’s potential for a deal to get done where Domantas Sabonis does end up in Canada,” Haynes said of the ongoing conversations between the two teams.
“With that being said, the deal is centered around Sabonis and RJ Barrett, with additional players included to make the money work,” Haynes said. “What I’m told by sources is that the holdup is Toronto wanting to include second-round picks in the package.”
“Sacramento, of course, is asking for a first-round pick,” Haynes said. “And if they don’t get a first-round pick included in the deal, I’m told the deal would be off.”
Barrett has been on the Kings’ radar for the entirety of this season with first-year general manager Scott Perry, a member of the New York Knicks’ front office that drafted the Duke product in 2019, at the helm.
Adding the 25-year-old Barrett into a core of Hunter, Raynaud, Cardwell, Nique Clifford, and Keegan Murray would provide Sacramento with a proven wing-scorer who has averaged 18.8 points per game during his NBA career, while providing the Raptors with a presence in the paint and one of–if not the best–rebounders in the league.
Talks between Sacramento and Toronto regarding Domantas Sabonis could continue in the summer if no deal is reached by noon on Thursday, but it’s clear that both sides have mutual interest in getting something done.
Most NBA trade-deadline negotiations turn into staring contests. Who will blink first?
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