Domantas Sabonis on the Charlotte Hornets would be really fun to watch.
The Charlotte Hornets have been urged to trade for Sacramento Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis this offseason.
Jonathan DeLong of At The Hive believes the Hornets should pursue a blockbuster trade for Sabonis this summer.
"Sabonis is my personal favorite target on the trade market between his fit and my assumption that he won't come at a terribly high price," DeLong wrote. "Even with the expected lottery reforms, there's still value in rebuilding through the draft and collecting first-round picks. The Kings are likely to go that route, and Sabonis is probably their best chance to gather some assets. The Hornets could hand them a couple of first-round picks and a young player like Liam McNeeley, Ryan Kalkbrenner, or Tidjane Salaun. I look at the Pascal Siakam trade to the Pacers as a precedent for this. The Pacers were a similar, ascending team. They gave up three first-round picks and filler to get Siakam, who was older than some of their core pieces but a great fit. One season later, they were in the NBA Finals.
"A Sabonis trade could have a similar payoff for the Hornets. He's a perfect fit for what the Hornets want to do. He's an elite facilitator from the five spot, and he's at least a threat to hit an open three, so he'd create a lot of good looks for the offense out of the handoffs they like to run. Plus he gives the Hornets an interior presence on offense that would be a backup plan when threes aren't falling. He's also an elite rebounder. A center rotation of Sabonis and Moussa Diabate would put opponents under relentless attack on the offensive glass. Plus Moussa's defensive versatility and Sabonis's ability to hit the occasional three means both could potentially share the floor with one another."
Sabonis will make $45,472,000 next season and $48,608,000 in the 2027-28 season. He's better suited to play for a contending team at this stage of his career and the Kings are nowhere close to being a playoff team. They are in deep rebuild mode.
A three-time All-Star, Sabonis appeared in only 19 games for the Kings this because of a knee injury. He averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 54.3% from the field, 18.5% from beyond the arc and 72.7% from the free-throw line.
The Hornets, who missed the playoffs by just one game this year, could start LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges and Sabonis next season if Charlotte's front office takes DeLong's advice and trades for Sabonis. That's a lethal starting five on paper.
Sabonis has played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and Kings. He has career averages of 16.1 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.
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