The Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings agreed to a blockbuster deal involving Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton and Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis. The blockbuster deal also involved Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson of the Kings as well as Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb of the Pacers. The Pacers-Kings trade has the potential to be one where both teams benefit. That said, let's take a look at the whole blockbuster and grade the teams on their trade.
Kings Grade: C+
The Kings are currently 20-35 and with a playoff berth unlikely, eyeing the future with any moves made. Sacramento managed to secure one of the NBA's best young big men in Domantas Sabonis, a two-time All-Star who has shown the type of do-it-all ability that is so coveted by teams in the modern NBA. Yes, getting Sabonis doubles down on the team's future window of competitiveness with guard De'Aaron Fox, but the Kings had to part ways with budding star Tyrese Haliburton to do it. Haliburton is a strong contributor on both ends of the floor, as well as a great shooter and distributor. At best, he was always an imperfect fit alongside fellow backcourt players like Fox and Davion Mitchell. However, parting with one of the latter two would have been more palatable. The Kings were wise to move on from one-dimensional veterans such as Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson and they scored useful role players, such as Justin Holiday, who is a solid three-point shooter. However, it's hard to fully commend them for this deal given the fact that they didn't consider the 21-year-old Haliburton untouchable in a trade.
Pacers Grade: B+
The Pacers are similarly in playoff purgatory. Not quite bad enough to fully rebuild but not quite good enough to reload at the trade deadline. Losing Sabonis, who they acquired in the Paul George deal, hurts, as he had blossomed into one of the NBA's best power forwards during his time in Indiana. However, to acquire Tyrese Haliburton, who looks the part of a future star, is a big win for Indiana. The 21-year-old Haliburton is averaging 14.3 points, 7.4 assists, 3.2 three-pointers made per game and 1.7 steals per contest. Simply put, Indiana has a backcourt that can play in the present, with Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield, and a backcourt that has tremendous potential for the future, with Haliburton and Chris Duarte. It might even make sense for the Pacers to hold onto talented center Myles Turner, who could be better without Sabonis beside him. The Pacers will feel the absence of Sabonis but are set up quite nicely for the future with this young core. This is how to start a rebuild.
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