A rough season continues to get worse for the Sacramento Kings, as they'll be without starting center Domantas Sabonis for the foreseeable future. Sabonis suffered a left knee meniscus tear, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. He will be reevaluated in three to four weeks.
Sabonis missed Sacramento's 113-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with what was labeled as knee soreness at the time. However, further testing showed that it was actually a meniscus tear, which is obviously much more serious than just some soreness.
On the season, Sabonis has been averaging 17.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per performance for the Kings, who have won just three of their first 15 games. They currently sit second-to-last in the Western Conference, ahead of only the hapless New Orleans Pelicans.
Climbing out of the early-season hole that they dug for themselves won’t be easy for the Kings, especially with Sabonis sidelined for several weeks. If things continue to trend south in Sacramento, we could start to see some of their players’ names popping up in trade rumors, including Sasbonis.
In fact, that’s already started for Sabonis, as some other teams have expressed interest in the three-time All-Star.
Sabonis still has two years and over $93 million remaining on his current contract, so any team trading for him would have to be willing to make a substantial investment.
Sabonis still has two years and over $93 million remaining on his current contract, so any team trading for him would have to be willing to make a substantial investment.
The knee issue could pause any potential trade talk though, as interested teams might be hesitant to trade for a player who is currently sidelined with an injury.