Sacramento Kings standout center Domantas Sabonis underwent season-ending surgery on Wednesday to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Sabonis, 29, tried to play through the injury, notably returning to the court before the trade deadline, but he missed the team’s final four games before the All-Star break.
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The three-time All-Star big man appeared to be on the trade block this season, and so did fellow veterans Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, but all three of them are still in Sacramento.
LaVine reportedly underwent season-ending surgery himself last week.
His procedure addressed a tendon injury in his right hand that caused the two-time All-Star guard to miss the Kings’ last three games prior to the break. Earlier this season — his second with Sacramento after he was traded midseason from the Chicago Bulls last year in the three-team deal that sent now-two-time All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs — LaVine missed nine games in a row because of a left ankle injury.
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Injuries have been a thorn in the Kings’ side throughout a forgettable season that’s seen the franchise toil in the basement of the league’s standings.
Sacramento’s 12 wins are the fewest in the NBA at the moment. The Kings limped into the break with 14 straight losses.
Their imbalanced and veteran-laden roster featured LaVine and Sabonis as two of its top-three scorers. LaVine had been leading the team with 19.2 points per game, and Sabonis was third with 15.8 points per game, although Sabonis was on the floor for just 19 games this season.
Sabonis, the 11th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft who made his first two All-Star teams with the Indiana Pacers, went down with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee in November. Even before that, though, he missed time early in the season with a hamstring strain that he picked up in the preseason and then a rib injury.
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At the time of his meniscus diagnosis, Sabonis was reportedly expected to be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks. When late December rolled around, his recovery timeline was extended, as the Kings announced that Sabonis would miss 4-5 additional weeks.
When he was on the court this season, he struggled mightily from beyond the arc, making just five of his 27 3-point attempts. But he remained an effective rebounder, collecting a double-double in all but seven of his appearances.
Along with Fox, Sabonis helped Sacramento end its 16-season playoff drought during the 2022-23 campaign. Since, however, the Kings haven’t returned to the postseason. They’re nowhere close this time around, and Sabonis’ future with the organization is murky.
So is LaVine’s, even though he might opt into his $48.9 million player option for next season and Sabonis has two years and $94 million left on his contract.
It’s possible Kings general manager Scott Perry resumes trade talks this summer, after all.
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