The Sacramento Kings acquired All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday afternoon ahead of this week’s NBA trade deadline, first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
For weeks now, the Kings have been looking to make a big acquisition prior to the trade deadline, as they look to end their 15-year playoff skid. A few weeks back, our own Evan Massey reported about Sacramento’s heavy interest in Domantas Sabonis.
Currently 20-35 on the season, the Kings sit just two games back from the 10-seeded New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference and believe that they have what it takes now to make a run at earning a play-in tournament spot out West.
However, this trade to acquire Sabonis came at a heavy cost to the Sacramento Kings. In return for receiving Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, and a 2027 second-round pick from the Indiana Pacers, the Kings traded sharpshooter Buddy Hield, veteran big man Tristan Thompson and second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton, who has been having an extremely impressive 2021-22 season.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kings, Pacers Finalize Trade Involving Domantas Sabonis, Tyrese Haliburton
Tyrese Haliburton was the 12th overall by the Kings in the 2020 NBA Draft and quickly emerged as their future. After earning 2020-21 All-Rookie honors, Haliburton continued to grow as a playmaker and facilitator in Sacramento this season and currently ranks 6th in the league in assists, 11th in assists per game.
Through the years, the Kings have had numerous lottery picks in the NBA Draft, but they have never been able to find consistency with any of the players they drafted.
Dating back to 2016, De’Aaron Fox (2017), Marvin Bagley III (2018), and Davion Mitchell (2021) are the only remaining draft picks on the Kings roster out of 16 total players.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kings, Pacers Finalize Trade Involving Domantas Sabonis, Tyrese Haliburton
The inconsistencies the Kings have had as an organization through the years are very well documented and this trade for Domantas Sabonis further proves how unstable Sacramento’s front office really is.
Winning right now is very important in the NBA and for virtually every single team, but the Sacramento Kings find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of trading their best, young talents every few years, a cycle Kings fans hoped they would see end this season.
