One of the biggest storylines throughout the first half of the Toronto Raptors 2025-26 season was the idea that the Dinos may trade for Sacramento big man Domantas Sabonis. While nothing materialized as Sabonis' season came to an end with a knee surgery, it appears Bobby Webster has missed his window to trade for the three-time All-Star.
According to two reports, the first from The Athletic's Sam Amick, there have been talks between the Charlotte Hornets and Kings on a Sabonis deal. This was later followed up by HoopsHype's Mike Scotto, who reported that the loose framework was Miles Bridges, Josh Green, and a potential first-round draft pick for Domas.
For a Raptors team that is as thin at the five as they are with Jakob Poeltl and Sandro Mamukelashvili, who has a player option he is almost certain to decline, this is a tough blow.
Not only are the Raptors potentially losing out to a big man that would be a great fit for them, but they are also losing him to a team they’ll be directly competing with for a playoff spot next season.
The Raptors can’t compete with the Hornets' potential package
This past season, Domas appeared in only 19 games, averaging 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field. Before the 2025-26 campaign, Sabonis was riding a three-year streak of leading the league in rebounds per game. Inserting his rebounding ability and numbers into the Raptors lineup last season would’ve done the lord's work for this team and its outcome last season. Toronto finished as the seventh-worst rebounding team in the regular season and the sixth-worst in the postseason.
Having a beast on the boards like Sabonis is something the Raptors haven’t had in the franchise's entire history, and the need for it has never been higher.
The frustrating reality with a Sabonis trade is that if the Raptors are trying to compete with Charlotte in trade talks, they have zero shot. The Hornets have two first-round picks in this draft that are both higher than Toronto, with No. 14 and No. 18. Along with that, Charlotte also has contracts that would be way more enticing players and contracts to take back if you’re a rebuilding Kings team.
Instead of taking on Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, or RJ Barrett's money, the Hornets could offer Miles Bridges plus one of Grant Williams or Josh Green, who are all on expiring deals. Bridges plus Green or Williams and a top 18 pick in this class sounds way better than 3 years of Poeltl at $84+ million, one of either IQ or Barrett, and the No.19 pick.
Once again, the way the Raptors mismanaged their assets following the 2019 championship-winning season has killed their chances of landing a big-time player on the trade market.
Following the playoffs, the Raptors' need for a starting-caliber center has never been clearer, and it makes Bobby Webster’s decision not to pull the trigger on a Sabonis trade at the deadline look even worse. Instead, it appears the 30-year-old big man could be heading to a rising Hornets team that was already bound to make some noise in the Eastern Conference next season.
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