3 Offseason moves the Sacramento Kings must make to win the West

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Domantas Sabonis #10 of the Sacramento Kings (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

2. Extend Domantas Sabonis

The Kings are built around two stars and a young core, giving hope for the future. As long as Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox are around, the Kings will be an intriguing threat to the Western Conference.

Fox has already been paid, signing a five-year, $163 million extension in November 2020, the largest deal in franchise history. He’s signed with the team through the 2025-26 season.

So it’s now up to the Kings to give a similar commitment to Sabonis to keep the core in place. He’s not set to hit free agency until the end of next season, but now is the time to lock him up before he gets a chance to test the market.

This will be the first real contract negotiations between Sabonis and the Kings, a test to see how eager both are to continue the partnership. He came over from the Indiana Pacers at the trade deadline in the 2021-22 season, a deal that sent budding star Tyrese Haliburton to the Hoosier State.

Sabonis is set to make $19.4 million during the last year of his contract, with another $1.3 million via incentives within reach. He signed a four-year, $74.9 million deal with the Pacers back in October 2019. His play warrants a substantial pay boost.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement does have a little alteration that would increase the amount Sabonis could make in an extension this offseason. Before, he was capped at four years and $111 million – that number has risen to $121 million.

The Kings should run to the table and offer Sabonis that extension right away. The big man is still ascending, having reached his third All-Star Game this season and likely in line for some All-NBA honors. He’s a triple-double machine the Kings can keep building around.

That being said, it takes two to tango. If Sabonis reaches free agency next summer, he would probably command a max contract, which could include a total dollar sum that approximately doubles the extension the Kings can currently provide, beginning in July. That’s going to be a difficult negotiation.