The Sacramento Kings’ season has taken a turn for the worse as it was revealed that star center Domantas Sabonis has torn the meniscus in his left knee. The Lithuanian is expected to miss at least the next three to four weeks and will be re-evaluated thereafter. ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported.
Sacramento is currently 3-12 on the season, and after this injury, the team’s lineup is completely in disarray and seems to have completely lost its direction. Sabonis is the best player on the team, and there isn’t much center depth behind him.
In 11 games, Sabonis averaged 17.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. However, his shooting percentage was only 51%, which was the lowest level since his rookie season and nearly 10% lower than in previous seasons.
The Kings signed Precious Achiuwa after the season started and he is expected to move on for some time to come. Drew Eubanks is another guy expected to fill in in Sabonis’ absence.
Head coach Doug Christie started the season with winning expectations for this team, but that looked like a distant dream.
General manager Scott Perry now has some decisions to make. With Sabonis out at least around Christmas and possibly into the New Year, is it time to pivot and get into a rebuild?
Can Perry accept the decisions that need to be made?
The decisions that need to be made on this roster lie before Perry. Having Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan all on the roster simply doesn’t work.
Yes, there may be a limit to the value these players can recover. However, the most valuable result may simply be the flexibility they allow. If there were a trade that would provide some level of cap relief, that would certainly be a starting point.
LaVine will make $47.5 million this season and is likely to have a player option for nearly $49 million next season. He won’t get that money on the open market, making it harder to find value.
DeRozan has a more manageable contract that guarantees him nearly $25 million this season and partial guarantees through the 2026-27 season. At this point in his career, which teams are willing to consider him a suitable option is a big question. He would most likely fit in with a franchise looking to move into the next phase of its rebuild and want a veteran voice in the locker room.
As for Sabonis, the team may wait until he is healthy before considering moving him. When that time comes, the prudent thing for Perry to do is accept the offer and start a new era.
