Domantas Sabonis, an All-NBA center, did not become a free agent this summer. And he won’t be for the upcoming summers either, not even close.
A source with information said on Sunday that Sabonis has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Sacramento Kings, which will keep him signed through the 2027-28 season.
According to a source who talked to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity about the deal, which includes a boost in his compensation for this coming season to about $31 million, and his income for the four consecutive years would average about $47 million, the person said. The team has not announced the signing of the contract yet.
The entire value of the transaction is around $217 million. On Saturday night, NBA Online Betting PH was the first media outlet to publish the agreement, and The Sacramento Bee immediately confirmed it.
It was part of a massive spending start to free agency this summer: Counting the free agent agreements that have been signed, signings of this year’s rookie class, and extensions, NBA teams have collectively handed out more than $3 billion in contract value since Friday night. This includes signings of this year’s rookie class and extensions.
Because of the Kings’ decision, Sabonis will not be able to test the waters of the free agent market in the summer of 2024 as he had planned. Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, and Keegan Murray are all returning starters for the Kings, and they made the playoffs this past season for the first time since 2006. He is a significant contributor to the Kings’ recent uptick in success.
Sabonis has been selected for the All-Star Game three times, and he earned a spot on the All-NBA team after averaging 19.1 points and a league-high 12.3 rebounds per game in the previous season.
According to a second source who spoke with the Associated Press on the condition of maintaining their anonymity because the agreement had not yet been signed, Utah was finishing up an extension for guard Jordan Clarkson on Sunday as well. The insider added that it would have a total worth of $55 million over the course of the next three years; Clarkson had opted into a contract that would have paid him $14.3 million this coming season and now will average roughly $18.3 million over the course of three years.
This past season, Clarkson set a new career best with 20.8 points per game while playing for the Jazz. The agreement will boost Clarkson’s on-court earnings well above $100 million for his entire career.
— A source confirmed to the Associated Press that Miles Bridges has accepted Charlotte’s qualifying offer of $7.9 million for the upcoming season shortly after we broke the news of the agreement. Bridges was arrested for domestic assault in the summer of 2022, which resulted in him missing the entirety of the previous season. In the end, he entered a plea of no contest and was sentenced to three years of probation. In the earlier part of this summer, the NBA handed Bridges a 30-game ban, but they added that because Bridges sat out the rest of the 2022-2023 season, 20 of those games are regarded to have been served already.
— After the Athletic initially reported The agreement, a source confirmed to the Associated Press that Eric Gordon reached a deal with the Phoenix Suns. Gordon will be playing in his 16th season in the NBA and has a lifetime field goal percentage from beyond the arc of 37%.
