Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine Out for Season: Fantasy Basketball Fallout for Sacramento

The NBA has been on hold for a bit due to the All-Star break, but that hasn't stopped injury news from piling up. After we discussed injuries to Kyrie Irving (out for the season) and Franz Wagner (out for at least three weeks), let's go over the season-ending injuries for Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine.

We will break down the fantasy basketball impact of those injuries, plus some real-world takeaways.

Fantasy basketball injury news can be found all season on FantasySP.

Injury News and Stats

Sabonis is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. 

LaVine had surgery on Wednesday for a tendon injury in his right hand, so he also is done for the season.

Sabonis suffered his injury back in November and missed 27 straight games after that. He played in eight games from mid-January to early February, but also missed three games in that stretch, then the final four games before the All-Star break. Now, he's done for the season in an effort to be ready for next season.

Sabonis started 15 of the 19 games he's appeared in this season. He averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.2 blocks over 29.7 minutes a contest, while shooting 54.3% overall and just 18.5% from 3-point land.

LaVine missed the final three games before the All-Star break and a chunk of games in December and early January. He got in 39 games overall, starting 37 of them.

LaVine averaged 19.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks over 31.4 minutes a contest. He shot 47.9% overall and was 39% from deep.

What's Next for Sabonis and LaVine

In redraft fantasy leagues, both Sabonis and LaVine can be safely dropped now.

It's been a rough season for the fantasy owners for each Sacramento player, especially Sabonis, who barely has played. Both have underperformed, and they've been draft busts as a result.

At least now you can safely drop both players and look elsewhere for help. Waiver wire players won't produce like you expected Sabonis or LaVine to, but at least they will be active and more helpful than players who were missing games frequently.

LaVine is nearly 31 years old, while Sabonis is 29. I think both players still have plenty of gas in the tank, and will be good fantasy options in the future again. So in dynasty/keeper leagues, I'd be fine holding on to both players - definitely don't drop them. 

If you are ready to move on from either Sacramento player, look to trade them away instead. You will be selling both guys low, so teams rebuilding or retooling could land some higher end fantasy players for cheap right now.

Outlook for the Kings

The Kings were in full rebuild mode already, and now they especially will be down two of their best players. The door is now wide open for several players to be good fantasy assets, and the waiver wire list is loaded with Kings today as a result.

Maxime Raynaud, Keegan Murray, Precious Achiuwa, Devin Carter and Malik Monk are all on the waiver wire list today.

Raynaud is the biggest add of the day, up 16.16% and sitting at 63.05% overall. He's a center, so he will directly help fill the void left by Sabonis.

Raynaud is averaging 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1 assist and 0.5 steals and blocks over 23.5 minutes a game in 30 starts and 48 appearances this season. He's shooting 55.2% overall and 26.8% from deep. He'll be in line for more with Sabonis out, so I like adding him in all deeper leagues and keeping an eye on him in standard leagues.

Murray is up 13.26% and is now owned in 82.17% of leagues overall. He's a power forward, so he too will be a Sabonis replacement to a degree.

Murray has only played in 19 games this season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks over 35.9 minutes a night, while shooting 42.9% overall and 27.2% from deep. He should be owned in all leagues, and would be already if he hadn't missed most of January and all of February - he's expected back on the court after the All-Star break.

Achiuwa is another possible replacement for Sabonis. He's up 4.64% and is rostered in 10.08% of leagues overall.

In 48 games (32 starts) this season, Achiuwa is averaging 7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks over 20.3 minutes a night. He's shooting 50% overall and 29.6% from 3-point land. In an expanded role, he should produce more, but for the time being, he's just a deep-league fantasy asset.

Carter is up 1.52%, while Monk has been added in 1.47% of leagues. Carter is owned in 13.7% of leagues overall, while Monk is rostered in 33.59%.

In 20 games (one start) this season, Carter is averaging 6.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks over 13.4 minutes a contest. He's shooting 38.7% overall and just 18.8% from deep. More minutes are available with LaVine done for the season, and with more production, Carter could be a solid deep-league fantasy asset, so keep tabs on him.

Monk has come off the bench for all 43 of his appearances this season. He's averaging 12.4 points, 2.6 assists, 2 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks over 22.2 minutes a night, while shooting 43.6% overall and 42.6% from deep. Monk has missed time of late, but is returning after the break - if he stays healthy, he could be a good asset in a good chunk of fantasy leagues, so keep tabs on him.

Outside those five guys, Sacramento could also have Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, Nique Clifford, De'Andre Hunter, Daeqwon Plowden, Drew Eubanks and Dylan Cardwell pick up more the remainder of the season.

Cardwell is rostered in 30% of leagues right now, but he sprained his ankle a couple days ago at practice and will miss at least the next four weeks. He could be a late-season add if he returns after that.

DeRozan is already owned in all leagues, and he will lead the team without Sabonis or LaVine around. Expect DeRozan to pick up his production a bit for as long he's active this season.

Clifford is rostered in 41% of leagues right now, while Hunter is sitting at 32%. So both of them are more deep-league assets, but strong stretches of play could get them into standard leagues in the weeks to come.

Westbrook is at about 96% owned right now. He should get to 100% without LaVine and Sabonis around, as his production should increase a bit.

Plowden and Eubanks, plus any other Sacramento players, are barely owned in any leagues. Everyone is worth watching, as we don't know how the Kings are going to look down two of their best players. Keep your eyes on the team's gamelogs, and be watching the waiver wire list daily to see who is on the rise as the season moves along.