A Sacramento Kings insider shot down the Domantas Sabonis-Charlotte Hornets trade rumor.
The Charlotte Hornets are not trading for Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis, according to Kings insider Matt George.
Fake rumors went viral on social media about the Hornets getting close to acquiring Sabonis from the Kings.
Charlotte acquired Naz Reid from the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason in the LaMelo Ball trade, so the franchise doesn't need a power forward.
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.
The Kings are nowhere close to being a playoff team. They are in deep rebuild mode.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are in win-now mode. They came one win shy of making the playoffs this season for the first time since 2016.
But again, Charlotte is not interested in trading for Sabonis after landing Reid.
A three-time All-Star, Sabonis appeared in only 19 games for the Kings last season because of a knee injury, but he's healthy again and will be at 100% entering next season. He averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in 2025-26 while shooting 54.3% from the field, 18.5% from beyond the arc and 72.7% from the free-throw line.
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.
The Hornets are expected to start Coby White, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Reid and Moussa Diabate and use Dennis Schroder, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Grant Williams, Hannes Steinbach and Ryan Kalkbrenner as their primary bench players next season.
Charlotte opens the 2026-27 season on the road against the Brooklyn Nets. The home opener is against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hornets never made the playoffs in the Ball-Bridges era. It will be fascinating to see if Charlotte makes the playoffs next season with White, Miller, Knueppel and Reid leading the way.
