After one and a half seasons in Sacramento, the Kings decided to part ways with one of their most promising players, Tyrese Haliburton. They traded the young guard to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for veteran big man Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, and Jeremy Lamb.
Along with Haliburton, Tristan Thompson and Buddy Hield also were shipped to Indy. Still, the shocking part of the trade was the Kings sending Tyrese, who was expected to become a great player in Sacramento. Reports suggest that the league was ‘stunned’ after learning what the Kings did, and so was the player.
During his first day as a member of the Pacers, Tyrese spoke with reporters, opening up about his exit from Sacramento and how surprised he was by the news. The 12th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft didn’t mince words and shade the Kings for letting him go just like that when he was really invested in the franchise and the community.
“Yeah, they didn’t want me,” Haliburton said, via Yahoo Sports. “They went a different direction. That’s part of the business. It happens. I’m excited to be here. Excited to get going.
“It’s scary, right?” Haliburton continued when asked if it would be hard to trust the Pacers after how the Kings treated him. “I put a lot of love, a lot of trust in Sacramento and kind of immersed myself in the community, with the people. They just got rid of me. That’s part of the business. That’s probably my best trait is like somebody who just loves hard. I want to be here. I want to be a part of it. It can be my biggest upside but it can be a big downfall too.
“It hurt when I got traded. I loved being there and I loved the people. But coming here, I’m gonna do the same thing. They’ve shown me nothing but love since I’ve got here, they’re another organization taking a chance on me when they have no reason to, so I’m gonna put everything I’ve got into this.”
I asked Tyrese Haliburton about not having the chance to rebuild with the Kings:
“They ain’t want me. … It’s part of the business.”
@jxlorenzi then asked if there’s any difficulty to trust a new franchise:
“It hurt when I got traded. … I’mma put all I got into this.” #Pacers pic.twitter.com/L3TDM0awFA
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) February 10, 2022
Ty still has love for the people of Sacramento, as he tweeted after the news was broken. You could feel in his words that he was hurt for leaving the franchise. This doesn’t happen that often since not many players want to play in Sacramento. When they have one, they just get rid of him.
Sacramento, I love y’all! Can’t put all my feelings into words yet, but know I’m forever grateful and appreciative of each and every one of you.
— Tyrese Haliburton (@Hali) February 9, 2022
Haliburton was welcomed with open arms in Indiana, as they see him as a future star in the team. This is a new and exciting adventure for the guard. The Pacers have an interesting roster and these new pieces will help Rick Carlisle’s squad.
