Kings Trade Tyrese Haliburton To Pacers For All-Star Center Domantas Sabonis
Feb 8, 2022, 10:43 AM | Updated: 11:23 am
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Buddy Hield & Tristan Thompson will also be heading to Indiana in a ground-shaking deal
If fans were questioning whether or not Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair was sleeping through this trade deadline, it’s evident that McNair is wide awake.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news on Tuesday morning that the Sacramento Kings have traded talented guard Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers for All-Star center Domantas Sabonis.
Buddy Hield, the longest-tenured member of the Kings, and Tristan Thompson will also be heading to Indiana in the deal. Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday will be coming to Sacramento with Sabonis.
Sacramento will also receive a 2027 second-round pick in the deal.
For weeks, we had heard from a variety of sources and outlets that the Kings were adamant on holding onto both Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox after both names were heavily mentioned in trade rumors.
Fox’s name was the one that was linked in potential Sabonis swaps, but it appears that the Pacers had eyes for Haliburton, a guard that is turning into one of the premier playmakers in the NBA.
Sabonis, 25, will join the Kings with two seasons and around $40 million on his contract that will take him through the 2023-24 season. The two-time All-Star is averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game on 58-percent shooting from the field and 32-percent shooting from beyond the three-point line.
Moving Haliburton is a pill that will be very tough to swallow for the Sacramento Kings fanbase.
Sacramento’s 12th-overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Haliburton has turned into an elite playmaker, anticipatory defender and shooter in his sophomore season while becoming a fan-favorite.
The 21-year is ranks among the top-20 in several league categories including assists (6th), assists per game (11th), steals (3rd), steals per game (6th) and three-point field goal percentage (16th).
In his final game as a King, Haliburton dished out a career-high 17 assists–the most by a member of the franchise in over six years.
The Kings likely have more moves to make as they now have little-to-no shooting depth on the roster and a surplus of centers. Harrison Barnes’ name has been heavily mentioned in trade rumors for weeks and is someone to keep an eye on as we get closer to the deadline.
Thursday’s 12pm PST deadline is quickly approaching–and it appears that the Sacramento Kings have opened the flood gates.
