Sacramento Kings veterans Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis may have a unique opportunity in 2026.
The Sacramento Kings head into the 2026 season with the goal of being better than they were in 2025, as they won a total of 22 games, and to do that, veteran guard Zach LaVine and veteran center Domantas Sabonis may have a unique opportunity.
Recently, NBA insiders for ESPN answered the biggest questions for each NBA team, and in that article, there was an interesting question about the Kings. Can Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis recharge their careers?
This is definitely a question that needs to be answered and NBA insider Anthony Slater believes that LaVine and Sabonis playing better in 2026 could really benefit both sides.
The reason for that is the fact that if LaVine and Sabonis play well, that should help the Kings to perform much better as a team, as well as the fact that great performances from LaVine and Sabonis could increase their trade value.
Focusing on LaVine and Sabonis playing better in 2026 to help the Kings, that is something that could make a massive difference as the duo struggled with injuries in 2025 with LaVine playing in 39 games and Sabonis playing in 19 games.
For Sacramento to have gone large portions of the 2025 season without the duo of LaVine and Sabonis was not ideal, especially because it is a very young team that needs veterans to step up.
In 2026, that is even more the case as the Kings have added even more young talent, which includes rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr., rookie forward Alex Karaban, and rookie guard Emanuel Sharp, who all need to be mentored heading into their first season in the NBA.
With that said, it is clear that if LaVine and Sabonis can remain available and play well it could really help the Kings on the floor in particular.
On the other side, great performances from LaVine and Sabonis could really help to increase their trade value.
The reason this is important is that fact that neither LaVine or Sabonis really fit the timeline the Kings have as each of them are at least 30 years old while Sacramento is building for the future.
Additionally, LaVine and Sabonis are both making a substantial amount of money, which has put the Kings in a tough spot when it comes to making trades, so if they can play well and increase their trade value, that could give Sacramento an opportunity to trade each of them to destinations where they fit the timeline better, and in exchange, the Kings could clear cap space and get draft capital or young talent.
Specifically, this offseason the Kings have been in talks to acquire Detroit Pistons center Jalen who could be a great young piece for this franchise, but based on the cap situation and the current trade value of LaVine and Sabonis, the Kings have not been able to do that just yet.
So, if LaVine and Sabonis can play well to start the year that could help their trade value to go up and potentially put the Kings in a position to clear a significant amount of cap space as well as possibly acquire Duren to get this team in a position to be competitive a lot sooner than people think.
In conclusion, the 2026 season is a great opportunity for LaVine and Sabonis to play well to not only put the Kings in a great position on the floor, but also when it comes to Sacramento building for the future and getting LaVine and Sabonis in situations where they fit the timeline much better.
