One of the Sacramento Kings’ top pieces will be sticking around with them for some time. 27-year-old center Domantas Sabonis, a three-time NBA All-Star (including this past year) and a third-team All-NBA selection this past season, was already set to be with the Kings for 2023-24 on the existing four-year contract he signed with the Indiana Pacers in 2020. As per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, he’s now reached a new deal with the Kings that gets him more money this coming season and keeps him with the team for four more years:
ESPN story on All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis agreeing on a massive contract renegotiation and extension with Kings https://t.co/hJSVGAgUah
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2023
Some further details from Wojnarowski’s piece there:
Sacramento Kings All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis has agreed to a massive contract renegotiation and extension for a total of $217 million over five seasons — including $195 million in new money — his agents, Greg Lawrence and Jason Ranne of Wasserman, told ESPN on Saturday night.
…The Kings are using salary cap space to deliver an additional $8.6 million to raise his 2023-2024 earnings to $30.6 million — and add a four-year extension that’ll give Sabonis that nearly $200 million more over the life of his contract.
Sabonis, 27, isn’t taking the full money available to him. He discussed with the Kings’ leadership his desire to prioritize the franchise’s roster-building flexibility over fully maximizing his earnings, team officials told ESPN.
This past season, Sabonis averaged 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, and was a key part of Sacramento making the playoffs for the first time in a NBA-record 16 seasons. He joined the Kings in a six-player trade they conducted with the Pacers in February 2022, and has been an important piece for them since. He did battle some notable injuries last season, including a fractured thumb ligament in December and a sternum contusion from Draymond Green’s controversial stomp on him in an April playoff series, but was crucial to the Sacramento offense when healthy. And he now looks to be an important piece for them for some time to come.
[ESPN]
