In one of the more surprising moves at the NBA Trade Deadline, the Sacramento Kings shipped off arguably their best player in Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers. While they did get Domantas Sabonis and Justin Holiday in return, this deal caught Haliburton completely off guard.
The second-year PG out of Iowa State sat down with the Player's Tribune and detailed the moments up to when the Kings called and told him the news. Haliburton couldn't control his emotions.
A minute or so after that, 90 seconds max, my phone lights up. I look down at the screen and it says Monte. It’s our GM, Monte McNair. And I’m not gonna lie: When I saw that name pop up on my phone, my heart sank. I knew it was over right then.
It was a quick conversation. Pretty straightforward.
“Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that we made a trade, and we’re going to be sending you to Indiana. I wish you the best.”
There were maybe a couple more words after that. We both said thank you.
Then I hung up, set my phone down, and started crying my eyes out.
A bunch of Haliburton's Kings teammates also called him to give their best wishes. At first, their team group chat couldn't believe it when the youngster said he just got traded. But once Tristan Thompson and Buddy Hield also said they were on the move, it became a reality.
Needless to say, Tyrese Haliburton wasn't expecting any of this. But, now he's on a Pacers team who will be looking to build their future strictly around the playmaker, who just dropped 22 points and dished out a mind-boggling 16 assists on Sunday night. There's no doubt the Kings will miss him, but this is how the business works. Haliburton has learned that early in his career. Indiana got a very special talent and a future All-Star.
Follow Us
Subscribe