Why The Toronto Raptors Should Have Pulled The Trigger On Domantas Sabonis

This past season, the Toronto Raptors turned heads as one of the more surprising success stories, making a big leap from a disappointing prior season to a fifth place finish in the Eastern Conference. 

Even with one of the younger rosters in the league, Toronto pushed the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink in a seven-game thriller of a series, but fell just short of advancing to the next round. Though they matched up against a much more well-rounded team on paper, they made their talent known in an impressive season.

One thing that the Raptors lacked in that series, and possibly throughout the season, was sheer dominance from a big. Toronto matched up center Jakob Poeltl, who struggled in the series, against the Cavaliers’ big-man tandem of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

But just a couple months before that, the Raptors’ frontcourt almost took on a completely new look.  

Before the NBA trade deadline in February, the Raptors nearly pulled off a trade for Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater. Had the deal gone through, Toronto would have parted with guard RJ Barrett. 

Sabonis would have welcomed the deal and a new home with Toronto, but one thing held the trade from going through. What ultimately doomed the deal was that the Raptors were unable to get off of the three years and $84 million left of Poeltl’s contract. Last summer, Poeltl had signed a four-year extension with the team that will have him under contract through the 2029-30 season.

Had the Raptors found a way to get the deal done, they most definitely would have missed Barrett, who delivered a stellar showing in Toronto’s lone playoff series. But moving the needle for a dominant big could have elevated the team’s frontcourt down the stretch.

Shortly after the deadline, Sabonis would end up undergoing season-ending surgery on a partially torn meniscus, so it is unclear how things would have played out in a trade to Toronto. He only played 19 games in the 2025-26 season, but once again averaged a double-double, something he has done in each of his last seven seasons.

Adding Sabonis to the mix in Toronto would have given them more comfort at the big position, despite the recent extension to Poeltl. With the Raptors’ speedy and youthful backcourt, the opportunities with a flexible big like Sabonis could have made for a lot of success.

Sabonis has had himself a very solid few seasons with Sacramento, but the team has shopped him recently as the Kings’ success has gone downhill since their playoff appearance in the 2022-23 season.

Should the opportunity come up for a trade again and Sabonis appears to be healthy and good to go, the Raptors should explore the possibilities of a move for the big man. With Poeltl’s slight down season, it is unclear how productive he could be going forward.