Trade rumors have taken the first month of the Boston Celtics offseason by storm. “They’re getting Giannis Antetokounmpo!” “They’re going to trade Jaylen Brown!” “Can they trade Derrick White?”; these have all been talking points in the community thus far.
When it comes to what the return would be in a potential Brown or White trade, names like Alperen Sengun, Kevin Durant, Jamal Murray, and even Domantas Sabonis have wiggled their way into fan chatter.
Thankfully, there’s been no legs to any of those theories. In fact, it sounds like the Charlotte Hornets are going to save the Celtics from even thinking about going after Sabonis. According to both The Athletic’s Sam Amick and HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Sacramento Kings have been taking exploratory calls from the Hornets and building loose framework for a Sabonis trade.
Amick reported that the Kings are looking for multiple first-rounders in return for the two-time All-NBA big man.
Sabonis is a fine player. He finished top 10 in MVP voting in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, the former season saw the Kings earn their first playoff appearance since 2006. The double-double machine has led the league in rebounding for the last three seasons.
Sabonis isn't worth any hurdle that comes with the Celtics trading for him
Many may have forgotten, since hardly anyone is paying attention to what’s going on in Sacramento, but Sabonis tore his meniscus this season and is currently recovering from the surgery he underwent in February.
That alone is a good reason for Boston to want to avoid getting into business with him. Nevermind that even when he was healthy, this past campaign was a serious step back for him. Sabonis averaged 15.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, his lowest averages in each category since he became a starter for the Indiana Pacers in the 2019-20 season.
The former All-Star is owed $94 million over the next two seasons, too. Not only would trading for him tie up a significant chunk of the Celtics’ salary cap, but they’d undoubtedly have to cough up key pieces to get a deal done.
When filling out a mock trade for the 2026-27 league year, Derrick White and Sam Hauser make up the salary necessary to match Sabonis’s. Boston could technically get there by offering Payton Pritchard instead of Hauser -- a swap that doesn’t exactly sweeten the deal.
Oh, and then there’s the wrinkle where Amick reports that the Kings want multiple first-round picks.
No thanks. Go ahead and trade Sabonis to Charlotte and eliminate any possibility that he could be taking up a third of Boston’s cap space next season.
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