Tyrese Haliburton thought he had every reason to believe that he would be part of the Sacramento Kings‘ long-term future. After his rookie season, the organization was apparently telling him exactly that.
During an appearance on the Numbers on the Board podcast, Haliburton revealed that Kings officials encouraged him to start thinking about buying a house in Sacramento because they expected him to remain with the franchise for years.
“They were, they were telling me after my rookie year, they’re like, ‘Hey, man, you gonna be here a while. You should be looking to buy a house.’ And I got a call from—I was at breakfast. I was eating breakfast, and my agent called me like, ‘GM’s being weird. I think you might be getting traded.'”
“Then I’m trying to make some calls, cuz I’m like, cuz remember Philly, they were talking about, they were either like, there was a big talk of Fox for Ben Simmons or me for Ben Simmons, right? And when we had played Philly, Joel was like, Joel was like, ‘Yo, what we doing?’ I don’t know. I’m in my second year, like, ‘What you talking about?’ I called my best friend George Niang. I called him at the time, ‘Yo, what you hearing?’ And he’s like, ‘Let me ask.’ He was like, ‘No, it ain’t, it ain’t Philly.'”
“So I’m like—and then I got another call, and it was like now it’s both my agents, and I was like, ‘Who is it?’ And then Woj on the phone. I don’t know how he got—I think it’s Indiana. I’m like, ‘Who the f**k is this? For who?’ Cuz I didn’t even know. And they were like, ‘Sabonis.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, word.’ Literally hung up.”
“GM, I’m like, ‘No way.’ I’m sitting on the bathroom floor. I’m so, like, anxious about what’s going on. He’s like, ‘Uh, just wanted to call you to let you know there’s been a trade.’ I couldn’t even say nothing. I was like, ‘Oh.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’ He was like, ‘Ah, I would love to stop by your house and have a conversation.’ I was like, ‘Nah.'”
“But you’re also like, you know, when you’re, like, young in the NBA, you’re so used to, like, high school, college. It’s like, ‘One, two, three, family.’ You know what I mean? Like, everybody. Like, that was, like, the first reality of, like, ‘Wow, this is, this is what the NBA really, really looks like.'”
This entire story became Haliburton’s introduction to the business side of professional basketball. And the trade ended up completely changing both franchises.
Haliburton played only a season and a half in Sacramento, averaging 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 46.5% from the field and 41.1% from three-point range.
But in Indiana, he became a franchise player. Since joining the Pacers, Haliburton has averaged 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 10.1 assists while shooting 48.2% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range.
He has earned two All-Star selections and two All-NBA selections and helped Indiana reach the 2024-25 Eastern Conference Finals before taking them all the way to the 2025 NBA Finals. His run ended painfully when he tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals, which forced him to miss the entire following season.
Now healthy again and preparing for a return, Haliburton can look back at Sacramento’s decision very differently.
The Kings told him to buy a house. Instead, they traded him to a city where he became a superstar.
