Kings All-Star was not at practice and could miss the Lakers’ matchup

Kings All-Star was not at practice and could miss the Lakers’ matchup

Sacramento Kings three-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis missed a team practice on Friday due to an undisclosed illness and is in danger of sitting out his team’s Saturday game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports.

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

Brown signed an offseason contract extension and will now be paid through 2027 for not coaching the Kings, who are currently ranked 12th in the Western Conference. Charania added that the Kings have named assistant coach Doug Christie, a former Kings player, as the franchise’s interim head coach.

Brown’s firing isn’t the only personnel drama to 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 bosses about the long-term deal Discuss development of the team and its role in it. Fox hasn’t yet officially called for a deal, but by not immediately committing to another deal with the Kings, he unofficially put the team on notice that he’s not happy with the current direction.

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

Along with Fox, Sabonis was the most consistent player on the inconsistent team. In 28 contests per night, the 6-foot-1, 28-year-old from Gonzaga is averaging a career-best 21.1 points on .603/.418/.791 shooting splits, 13.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 0.8 Steals per night.

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

Read more: LeBron James could miss Lakers vs. Kings game due to new illness

With or without Sabonis, James and Hachimura, the contest between the Kings and Lakers will begin at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at Crypto.com Arena.

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