One of the most surprising moves of the last NBA season was the Kings' decision to trade Tyrese Haliburton just before the deadline. The franchise’s sixteen-year playoff drought has clearly caused management to grow impatient. Sacramento has not made it to the postseason since 2006 and has not won a playoff series since 2004. It is understandable to seek out a win-now type move to break this putrid streak, however, trading away a young player who was able to come in to make an immediate positive impact on the team’s play is certainly questionable.
During the 109 games he played in a Sacramento Kings uniform, Tyrese Haliburton averaged 13.6 points, 6.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. The Iowa State product also shot 41.1% on three-point attempts while launching five per game. In a trade that landed Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Jamb, Justin Holiday, and a 2027 second-round pick, Haliburton was traded to the Pacers along with Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. Haliburton recently opened up with Basketball News about his mindset surrounding the trade:
“I'm not gonna lie — for a while, it was just complete resentment towards, honestly, everybody in the organization if I'm being quite frank, even people who had nothing to do with [the trade]. It was just resentment towards the organization as a whole. And that was so immature of me. It's funny — the other day I was just writing down regrets I have in my life, unfulfilled expectations and resentments, and the only resentment I could come up with in my life right now is the Sacramento Kings. And it's like, I don't want to hold onto that. If I'm being completely honest, that [trade] is such a blessing for me. It's so easy now to look at it that way, but it's a complete blessing for me to be in the situation that I'm in, to have the ability to showcase what I can do and play my natural position. It's helping me a ton. So, you know, it's love at the end of the day. It is what it is. Just taking a step back and self-reflecting on a lot of different things in life, I think it made me a bigger person and just have more self-awareness.”
It is great to see the mindset shift that Tyrese Haliburton has had regarding the situation. He flashed increased production in his limited time with Indiana last season. In the 26 games he spent with the team he saw increases in all of his averages and totaled 17.5 points, 9.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. While Haliburton is clearly moving his career in the right direction, things are not as certain for the Kings organization.
The Pacers want Tyrese Haliburton to be the face of the franchise. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/nKSi1hRXDI
— theScore (@theScore) August 20, 2022
It is tough to even consider giving away the young guard one of the organization’s biggest mistakes in recent history. Here are some notable draft mistakes the Kings have made in recent years:
- 2011: Kings Draft- Bismack Biyombo (7th) -> other notable picks: Kemba Walker (9), Klay Thompson (11), Marcus Morris (14), Kawhi Leonard (15)
- 2012: Kings Draft: Thomas Robinson (5th) -> other notable picks: Dame Lillard (6), Harrison Barnes (7), Terrance Ross (8), Andre Drummond (9)
- 2013: Kings Draft- Ben McLemore (7th) -> other notable picks: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (8), CJ McCollum (10), Steven Adams (12), Giannis Antetokounmpo (15)
- 2015: Kings Draft- Willie Cauley-Stein (6th) -> other notable picks: Emmanuel Mudiay (6), Justice Winslow (10), Myles Turner (11), Trey Lyles (12), Devin Booker (13), Kelly Oubre Jr (15), Terry Rozier (16)
- 2018: Kings Draft- Marvin Bagley (2nd)-> other notable picks: Luka Doncic (3), Jaren Jackson Jr (4), Trae Young (5), Mo Bamba (6), Wendell Carter Jr (7), Collin Sexton (8), Mikal Bridges (10), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11)
These notable misses do not even include decisions like drafting Georgios Papgiannis with the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft (note- the pick was traded via the Suns) despite being labeled a mid-second round pick leading up the draft. Papgiannis has played a total of just 39 NBA games in his career and signed a five-year deal to play in Greece following his brief time in America.
The bottom line is that the Kings have proven it is not easy to make the proper draft day selections. While the Kings' scouting department and decision makers should certainly receive some criticism, evaluating young talent attempting to make the NBA leap is not an exact science. This is what makes it so important to capitalize on young talent when you do find a diamond in the rough. The decision to trade Tyrese Haliburton after the intriguing flashes he showed and his desire to remain with the franchise will likely haunt the Kings. Domantas Sabonis may be considered the better player at the moment, but that likely will not last long. The long-term security and financial benefits that a productive young player on his rookie deal possesses are impossible to replicate. Haliburton has clearly moved onto bigger and better goals, but the Kings will continue to fight their same demons.
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