A departure is a moment. An arrival is a moment. So I read BasketNews with my headphones on and the jingle ready. According to them, Domantas Sabonis wants to leave the Sacramento Kings. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said it straight: “Quite frankly, Sabonis wants out of there, and if they can move him, they would. So he’s not happy. It’s a bad situation.”
Everyone agrees to part ways. Great. I get the announcement ready. The dark, the two school fête spotlights, the two-second pause, and then…
And then nothing. Brian Windhorst adds that Sacramento would be ready to trade him, but that the Kings shouldn’t make a deal just to end it. Any trade has to “make sense”. Can you picture that on the mic? “Mesdames et messieurs, dames en heren, please welcome… a trade that makes sense.” Nobody stands up. Sense is not a moment.
There was even an attempt this summer, according to reports: a sign-and-trade with Detroit for Jalen Duren. MacMahon again: “What the Kings would want is to sign-and-trade for Jalen Duren and send Sabonis to Detroit. But that’s not happening.” Detroit had no interest. I cut the jingle for nothing.
What breaks my heart is that this guy has a proper intro card. He arrived from Indiana in February 2022, in the Tyrese Haliburton trade. And in 2023 he helped Sacramento end sixteen years without playoffs. Sixteen years! That was an entrance in the dark. This season: sixteen points, fifteen point eight rebounds, seven point three assists. He fills every box on my intro card.
A rumour doesn’t go on the scoresheet. A signature does.
So I’m keeping the card in my inside pocket. The jingle too. The richest league in the world has everything it takes for an announcement, except the announcement. I wait, mic off. Just saying.
It’s true, we checked: BasketNews.
