With less than one week to go until the start of the regular season, the Indiana Pacers reportedly are shopping big man Domantas Sabonis.
The Pacers have “engaged in active trade talks with several teams this week” revolving around the 23-year-old, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
Sabonis finds himself in a similar contract situation as Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown. Both players were lottery picks in the 2016 NBA Draft and currently sit amid negotiations to extend their rookie deals. While Brown and the Celtics seem to be working with one another, the Pacers and Sabonis reportedly are nowhere near the same page on the contract front. It’s that scenario that’s likely led to Indiana shopping its young big man.
Of course, Boston is a bit shallow when it comes to frontcourt depth, so many Celtics fans probably are asking if Sabonis is the solution they’ve been waiting for.
While he’d certainly improve Boston’s current arsenal of Enes Kanter, Daniel Theis, Robert Williams III and Vincent Poirier, the Celtics would have to part ways with one of their more valuable assets. Amick reports the Pacers’ asking price has been “too high” in initial talks, so we don’t think it’s likely Boston deals, say, Brown or another young player, in a trade for Sabonis.
The Gonzaga product, son of Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis, averaged 14.1 points and 9.3 rebounds on 59 percent shooting in 74 games last season.
