Kings All-Star Did Not Attend Practice, Could Miss Lakers Matchup

Three-time All-Star Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis missed a team practice Friday with an undisclosed illness and is at risk of sitting out his team’s Saturday tilt against the Los Angeles Lakers, reports Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

Friday has been a day of upheaval in Sacramento. In addition to this troubling Sabonis news, Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the Kings fired third-year head coach Mike Brown after the team’s disappointing 13-18 start to the season, including a brutal five-game losing streak.

Brown had signed a contract extension this offseason and will now be paid through 2027 to not coach the Kings, who currently occupy the Western Conference’s No. 12 seed. Charania adds that the Kings have elevated assistant coach Doug Christie, a former Kings player, to serve out the season as the franchise’s interim head coach.

The Brown firing is not the only personnel drama that has hit the club this year. All-Star Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox turned down a lucrative contract extension offer this offseason, and he and his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, have reportedly sat down with Sacramento brass to discuss the team’s long-term trajectory and his role in the. Fox has yet to officially demand a trade, but by not locking into another deal with the Kings right away, he has unofficially put the team on notice that he’s not happy with its current direction.

Despite his team’s lack of success, the Kentucky alum has looked like one of the league’s best lead guards this season. He is averaging 26.2 points on a .482/.332/.810 slash line, 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds in his 31 healthy games for the team.

Along with Fox, Sabonis has been the inconsistent team’s most consistent player. Across 28 contests on the night, the 28-foot-6-10 Gonzaga product is averaging a career-best 21.1 points on a .603/.418/.791 shooting split, 13.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 0.8 steals at night.

On the Lakers side of the equation, it seems likely that big men Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood — who haven’t played a single game yet this season as they recover from offseason surgeries — will remain on the shelf. LA’s starting forwards, 20-time All-Star LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, also sat out the Lakers’ team practice with illnesses and are considered questionable to play against Sacramento on Saturday.

Read more: LeBron James could miss Lakers vs Kings game with new ailment

With or without Sabonis, James and Hachimura, the Kings-Lakers contest is set to tip at 7:30 PM PT at Crypto.com Arena.

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