Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 19.4 points, 11.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds in his first five games with the Indiana Pacers.
Still, the NBA world is stuck on why he was traded from Sacramento to Indy -- even weeks later.
“I think it was a shock to everybody. No, I don’t think, I know it was a shock,” Haliburton told JJ Redick and Tommy Alter on the Old Man & the Three podcast. “Nobody saw it coming and nobody had any idea. I’m getting calls from coaches, and people in the organization like they had no idea, so it was a complete shock to everybody.”
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Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson were traded to the Pacers for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb on Feb. 8.
The 21-year-old was believed to be the future of the franchise in Sacramento. So when the Kings elected to trade their rising star guard, it raised some questions.
Since landing in Sactown in 2020, Haliburton was committed to reshaping the Kings organization and helping lead them to their first playoffs since the 2005-06 season.
“I truly feel like if you took a poll, not just the locker room but the whole organization, go grab fans if you want, go grab anyone who watches Kings’ basketball, and says ‘Who is the one guy that wants to be there?’ and they'll say, Tyrese Haliburton,” Haliburton said. “If there was one person who wanted to be there, it was for sure me. They drafted me, took a chance on me.”
NBA
Haliburton was down for Sacramento, and he was certainly a fan favorite.
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But now, his future is with Indiana.
“I really enjoyed it there, I really tried to make the best of it because I feel like the situation is what you make it,” Haliburton said. “I just made the most of it … I really enjoyed my time there, and I was excited for the future but I’m excited here in Indy as well.”