Like the rest of the NBA world, Tyrese Haliburton was shocked the Kings elected to trade him to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
In a potential franchise re-shaping move, the Kings traded Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson to the Pacers for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, and Jeremy Lamb. Haliburton was believed to be a key piece to the Kings' future, and the second-year guard didn't hold back Thursday while describing his emotions about the deal to local media in Indiana.
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"Yeah, they didn't want me," Haliburton said. "They went a different direction. That's part of the business. It happens. I'm excited to be here. Excited to get going.
"It's scary, right?" Haliburton continued when asked if it would be hard to trust the Pacers after how the Kings treated him. "I put a lot of love, a lot of trust in Sacramento and kind of immersed myself in the community, with the people. They just got rid of me. That's part of the business. That's probably my best trait is like somebody who just loves hard. I want to be here. I want to be a part of it. It can be my biggest upside but it can be a big downfall too.
"It hurt when I got traded. I loved being there and I loved the people. But coming here, I'm gonna do the same thing. They've shown me nothing but love since I've got here, they're another organization taking a chance on me when they have no reason to, so I'm gonna put everything I've got into this."
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Haliburton has been having an incredible sophomore season. Over the last 24 games, he's averaging 17.3 points per game and 9.4 assists while shooting 47 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range. He is a career 41.1 percent shooter from downtown.
Sabonis is an All-Star center who will make an immediate impact on a Kings team looking to make a push for the play-in tournament. During his Kings debut Wednesday, Sabonis scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead Sacramento to a 132-119 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Sabonis is happy to have landed somewhere he is wanted.
“Since the second I made it to the NBA, I figured out the hard way it’s a business,” Sabonis said Wednesday after the win. “I got traded on draft night, and then a year later, I got traded again. I’m just trying to find a home where I’m loved … and I feel like I found it here. I love it here.”