Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis addressed offseason trade rumors during preseason media day, calling the speculation unfounded.
The three-time All-Star also declared himself fully healthy after a knee injury limited him to 19 appearances last season.
"I'm 100%. Feeling good, feeling great," Sabonis told reporters ahead of training camp.
Sabonis said the injury occurred in the second game of the previous season, and he tried to play through pain for 17 more contests before being sidelined.
"Definitely tough," he said. "Definitely a lot of emotions.
It happened in game two of the season, actually. Tried to push through the next 17 games."
He admitted that delaying surgery may have extended his recovery. "Maybe I should have got the surgery straight away," Sabonis said.
Despite his absence, media reports linked him to trade discussions over the summer, including exploratory talks with the Charlotte Hornets and sign-and-trade scenarios involving Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren.
Sabonis dismissed the speculation outright. "Easy.
It's all made up," he said. "It's all out there.
I don't know where you guys get most of it from. I'm there with Scott, with my agent, so I'm not on social media as much."
He emphasized his strong relationship with team management. "I have a great relationship with Scott [Perry].
I have great agents. I know everything that's going on.
And I'm excited I'm here," Sabonis said.
The veteran big man also said sitting out gave him a new perspective. "We're NBA players.
This is awesome. You gotta enjoy every moment.
And this is everything we worked for," he said. "Just to go out there and have joy."
New Faces and Fresh Energy
The Kings enter the campaign with a revamped roster that includes sophomore center Maxime Raynaud and rookies Emanuel Sharp and Alex Karaban.
Raynaud, who spent the offseason with the French national team, welcomed the internal competition in Sacramento's frontcourt.
"It started with the national team where you have like, you know, Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert with you, and then it's here with Domas," Raynaud said.
"Everybody knows who Domas is."
He also reflected on his time with France. "It was great.
We pretty much qualified for the World Cup now. It's really fun because we have really high expectations there.
Our expectations and our goal is to win pretty much every game.
So, I guess the intensity at practice, at games, and also playing in front of a European crowd really made the whole experience that much more entertaining."
Guard Emanuel Sharp expressed excitement about sharing the court with established players. "They're NBA players.
It's special being on the court with the guys that are the best at their craft and what they do.
I mean, this is the highest level of basketball, so it's kind of a blessing to be here and being in this space with them."
Forward Alex Karaban, a two-time NCAA champion at Connecticut, noted the adjustment of moving across the country. "It's different for me.
It's a new experience for me here, just being on a whole different coast and just being away from family.
And then just learning the new coaches, learning how to play with new teammates.
So it's an adjustment, but it's been a great adjustment so far, and I've really just been enjoying every day."
Sacramento is scheduled to play six preseason exhibition games before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers in their regular-season opener on October 23.
