For anyone hoping to see Domantas Sabonis in Raptors threads, it doesn’t seem like that’s getting any close to a reality as the latest from the rumor mill has suggested.
It’s no secret by now that Toronto’s name has been consistently attached as a potential Sabonis suitor for quite some time now. I first wrote about it around December, and things have only continued to heat up from there. However, it appears that a new tipping point has been reached, though not in favor of progress, as Toronto and Sacramento reportedly are not aligned on an appealing transaction.
Raptors' talks on acquiring Domantas Sabonis from the Kings have stalled
I was paying close attention to the Sabonis chatter in these last few weeks, thinking it would only be a matter of time before the Raptors had a new big man in town. But, in what many Raptors fans should breathe a sigh of relief over, it appears the talks have halted as Toronto’s front office is not willing to attach first-round draft capital in any deal, as per Michael Scotto. The Raptors have reportedly been open to attaching second-round picks to spice up the offer, but nothing further.
Now, the rumored assets (player wise) on Toronto’s side of the offer has been RJ Barrett and Ochai Agbaji (who just got traded to Brooklyn at the time of writing) to Sacramento. But ideally, a third team would need to be involved to take on Jakob Poeltl (like Memphis perhaps), as the Kings seemingly have no interest in acquiring the aging big man — and to entice said third team, it would cost Toronto at least, a couple first-rounders to eat the salary.
For a team that has previously parted ways with valuable draft capital, it’s reassuring to know that, at least for now, the Raptors are committed to holding onto their coveted draft assets, even if it means missing out on their top target.
Once again, I still take the stance that Toronto should swing for more low-risk, mid-tier contracts, to upgrade the center spot or finding additional guard/scoring depth. Adding Sabonis would just add another financial burden to a team already trying to duck the tax. I get the talent upgrade, but the financial consequences could once again prove dire for Toronto, and the whole point is slowly digging out of that hole — not falling deeper into it.
But we’ll see if things change in the next 24 hours.