Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis sat down for a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic’s Sam Amick following Sacramento’s loss to the Phoenix Suns. Out of respect for Sam and the paywall of the Athletic, we won’t be publishing large excerpts from the article, but it’s definitely worth your time to check it out.
In the interview, Sabonis talks about the experience of working with Mike Brown, the natural adjustment to a new coach, and how they developed their trust with each other.
Sabonis also talks glowingly about his time in Sacramento, and about how this All-Star appearance means more to him than his past ones.
Domas also talked about his thumb injury, and his decision to avoid surgery. He talks about how some (unnamed) players will target it, and it seems like it’s an injury he expects to stick with him throughout the remainder of the year.
It’s a really wonderful interview, and a fun read for any Kings fan, and the perfect appetizer before the Kings enter All-Star weekend.
OX ROCKS!
First of all, that was a great interview by Sam. Definitely worth the read.
Second, with so many teams cutting players or executing buyouts, should the Kings be thinking of making their own cut or buyout in order to add a player that may help down the stretch?
I only ask because there are some guys worthy of some 10 day deals or even a roster spot. Even the Spurs are kicking the tires on guys.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1626342878728290307
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1626314305275629575
I think that the bar is set higher for the Kings than the Spurs at the moment. That is, the Spurs are taking a look at guys while ensuring they lose the maximum possible number of games. The Kings, meanwhile, are probably only looking at guys that can improve the rotation this year.
My guess is that Len (or maybe Edwards) would be the first player cut if the Kings went after someone. KZ would be in there, too, though I believe that he has at least a partial guarantee for next season. I could see the Kings eating some money and making room for an Ibaka or Love or Barton or Westbrook if the stars aligned for any of those guys, but I don’t see the Kings eating money to take a chance on raw prospects. Maybe for Stockton?
Yeah, I could see Len being the first to go. KZ has a partial guarantee next year, Delly may still be needed, Edwards has a TO next year, but Len is the only real guy that is a UFA that’s occupying the end of the bench. At this point I don’t even see him getting minutes if Sabonis were to miss a few games. Holmes is still ahead of him on the depth charts. I almost think Len would want a buyout in hopes that he could get minutes elsewhere before hitting free agency.
IMO, any of those guys you mentioned would be an addition over Len. There are others too. Off the top of my head I can think of Terry Taylor, Stanley Johnson, or even Pat Bev. It seems like the other playoff teams are bolstering their benches, so just wonder if the Kings will as well.
Love would be perfect: Passing and rebounding big with an achy thumb!
Yeah, KL would really be a nice addition, and could also play minutes with Sabonis from time to time.
What’s interesting about Love is that he apparently requested the buyout, which makes me think he has wink wink deal elsewhere already planned.
That’s what makes the most sense. Cleveland is winning and he is an important part of that.
Seems mighty odd to me that he is on the way out as they certainly use and need him which means it was likely initiated by him and they are accommodating the request.
He’s an LA guy. Lakers? Clippers?
It’s especially odd as Cavs are a Top 3 team in the East and have been all year. They are Champ contenders, not as much as Boston or Bucks, but right there. He would be an important piece in a run for the Larry O’Brien. Just seems “not right”, but what do I know.
He’s been out of the rotation for a while now even though he was a contributor. The initial reports linked him to Miami, but I’ve seen some reports that the Dubs and L***rs may be interested as well.
duds ?
I think, like Jman said, you need to look closer. This is more of a micro look into where Love is at right now. Dean Wade took his spot in the rotation, that’s why he’s no longer playing. He’s on the last year of his deal, that’s why the Cavs are offering Love a buyout.
Love is a traffic cone defensively at this point. All of his real minutes came with Mobley and Allen. And his efficiency on offense has declined. That’s why he lost his spot.
TBH, I think the best upgrade the Kings could get is a rejuvenated Richaun Holmes. Especially for 20 MPG. How Mike Brown handles this is going to be critical as the Kings have 25 games in 46 days, 6 b2b’s, an East Coast trip with a SEGABABA at a rest disadvantage, and two home and home b2b’s. At some point, you just cannot let Mitchell and Holmes languish unless you switch things up a bit.
I’m interested to see how Brown goes about the post ASB because I don’t think this team scuffled a bit solely due to being tired. They were 26-18 after the OKC win on 1/20. They’ve been 6-7 since.
I don’t think there’s an automatic buyout candidate that intrigues me. I’m alot more interested to see what Mitchell and Holmes can do running more PnR in their minutes. And maybe see if you can get mileage out of a Mitchell-Monk- Davis-Edwards- Lyles/ Holmes unit.
But…. who knows? I’m just not thinking Brown can keep the status quo and win as many games. Some minor tweaks here or there might have to be in order to get this team across the finish line.
the impactful buyout guys seem to have a wink and a deal to a specific high ranked team. A few can make an impact.
some observations: LAL got better and did not give up much. But there will be a struggle even to get to the play-in. Mavs are having adjustment problems.
LAC are going without a traditional PG and added some pieces. Denver must have soured on Bones. Suns lost 3 frontcourt guys but got KD, TJ and now Ross as replacements. Nets are overloaded with 3 and D types. IMO if Middleton “recovers his form”, Bucks will beat Suns in final. If Kings face Mavs in first round, there is high hope. Not so much vs. LAC or Suns.
Yes, it’s 57 games in so far and we’re still waiting.
He had that one Domas-replacement game and than back to thumb twiddling to see if he gets minutes and produces in those minutes.
And a return of “offense capable” Off-Night (Ooff-Night?) – the guy who can deliver assists, hit a three, slash a bit – seems like a distant shadow. I’d really like to see him return to form, I like the guy.
Best bet – Band-Aid Malik Monk (BAMM without the Adebayo). He’s been a very capable PG who can score and defend a bit. He’s another guy who seems to be searching to find his Mojo though I don’t think he’d ever admit it (no lack of confidence there).
The recent interviews all seem to show that the Core guys on the Kings understand that the onus of finishing in the Top 6 is squarely on their shoulders. And they seem to accept that and are not (yet) looking for excuses. I admire that.
It’s Crunch time in the regular season schedule – I expect to see the Jazz, Blazers, Lakers, Thunder in one section fighting for 9-10 and the Mavs, Minny, Pels, and Kings in the 5-8 battle, leaving Denver solidly at 1, and Memphis, PHX, LAC at 2-4. But who knows?
Good call posting the link, it’s a fun little read. Sabonis is definitely enjoying himself in Sacramento, not just the success, but the challenge of creating it.
If y’all could post links like this to free articles too it’d be appreciated.
I’d like to add that if I had the discretionary income to pay for sports content it would be spent here at KH, not some other site
I appreciate that. There are time when we will post excerpts from a paywalled article, especially if we need to react to something specific that would serve as it’s own article. Just a fine line to balance. This particular article stands on its own, so we posted the link and discussed the main topics covered so people would have a place to discuss it.
As for links to other stuff, we try to highlight articles elsewhere too, sometimes we miss stuff, other times we link to articles as key points for a larger discussion.
Apparently Jared Dubin went from completely skeptical to hopeful the Kings end the streak. 😂😂😂
Read the whole article, is my suggestion.
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