Before the Sacramento Kings struck gold with the pairing of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, there was a long list of regrets and failures fresh in fans' minds. Fortunately, trading All-Star Tyrese Haliburton to the Philadelphia 7ers for Ben Simmons was not one of them. Otherwise, the franchise's newfound success and “Light the Beam” craze would likely have never come to fruition last season.

Apparently, such an offer was never even on the table, despite conflicting reports. NBA correspondent Marc Stein did his bets to sort it all out with the evidence provided to him.

“Sources briefed on those trade talks insisted to The Stein Line last week that, contrary to persistent speculation about Sacramento's reported interest in Ben Simmons back then, Philadelphia was not offered a Tyrese Haliburton-centric package for Simmons,” Stein wrote on his Substack.

It is well-documented the interest Sacramento had in Ben Simmons, but general manger Monty McNair was clearly hesitant about trading away Haliburton for a player at the center of controversy and health concerns. Ultimately, the point guard was dealt to the Indiana Pacers with Sabonis coming back in exchange. It has been a rare win-win so far, with both stars signing big extensions this offseason.

Meanwhile, Philly is still looking for another top talent to pair alongside MVP Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey is brimming with All-Star potential, but Sixers GM Daryl Morey will want to add some more firepower if James Harden is indeed traded before next season.

Tyrese Haliburton would have eliminated these problems. Morey knew that the 23-year-old out of Iowa State was always a pipe dream, despite his continued pursuits. Once the well dried up, he reunited with Harden.

“Morey said in his 97.5 FM interview {with Anthony Gargano} that he couldn’t discuss Haliburton by name but insisted that ‘we turned over every rock there' and said such a deal was ‘never there' no matter how hard the Sixers pushed for it,” Stein said.

One has to wonder how dramatically different all the trajectories of those involved would be had the Kings been less patient and jumped at a Simmons package.