The Kings’ Tyrese Haliburton trade was sudden, unexpected and emotional for Sacramento fans who had to say goodbye to a player that finally wanted to be there as much as they wanted him to.
Months later, a lot has changed, and Kings fans are happy with the new squad and excited about what the future will bring.
At the NBA 2K23 Summer League tournament in Las Vegas, Haliburton caught up with FOX40's Sean Cunningham while watching his new team, the Indiana Pacers, take on his former team, the Kings, on Sunday.
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While the young guard has made it clear that there's no bad blood between him and his ex-teammates, and the love for Sacramento fans will always be mutual, Haliburton subtly suggested that may not be the case for the Kings organization.
Cunningham: "Sacramento loved you man, you knew that. You had that connection. Is it still there?"
Haliburton: "Oh, for sure. With the fans, forever. That’s not a question. My feeling toward the organization and the fans are completely different. It is what it is."
The Kings traded Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Pacers for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb.
Since being traded, Haliburton hasn’t held back on his emotions and how hurt he was that Sacramento elected to trade him.
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The 22-year-old seems to be much more at peace with the situation and was all smiles while cheering on his team in Vegas.
“They love me in Indy so it’s really exciting,” he said. “We got a lot of youth, we’re just young and growing … It’s not going to always be pretty, but we’re going to figure it out. For myself, it’s the best you’ll ever see me. We’re working really hard and I’m really looking forward to this season.”