Sabonis will miss his homecoming in Indiana on Wednesday.
We may have seen Domantas Sabonis for the last time in a Kings uniform this season, as the team shared this afternoon that Sabonis suffered a left knee bone bruise on Sunday afternoon vs. the Phoenix Suns. Sabonis will be evaluated on April 2, when the Kings will have just four contests left in the regular season.
It’s more likely than not that the Kings will just shut him down for the remainder of the year. Sitting solidly at 13th in the Western Conference, there is no reason that Sacramento needs to rush the big man back for sake of competition.
The news is disappointing, as Sacramento had this small sample size left an already disappointing season to evaluate Domas and company for next year’s adjustments: who’d they like to keep around in tandem with De’Aaron Fox and where the gaps are that need to be filled.
Only Indiana Pacers fans may be more bummed than the people of Sacramento, as this Wednesday was supposed to be Sabonis’ first return to Indy since the trade sending him to the West. It will still be a monumental occasion seeing Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield on the opposition, but fans of the 2x All-Star set their sights on this visit to his former club. It is likely that fans will have to wait around a year before he gets the opportunity to play there again.
In his absence, the Kings are now starved at the big man spot, where Richaun Holmes would have filled in before his announcement to miss the remainder of the season due to personal reasons. As of now, it’s looking like Alex Len and Neemias Queta will eat the minutes instead.