On February 8, 2022, the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings executed a high-profile trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana and Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento. This transaction was one of the most talked-about moves of the season, leaving a lasting impact on both franchises forever. Looking back on the deal, it’s clear that the Pacers made a strategic move to reshape their roster and secure a better future while the Kings unlocked a new dimension to their offense without the logjam at the guard position.
Tyrese Haliburton has proven to be an invaluable addition to the Pacers. His playmaking abilities, highlight-reel handles, and scoring potential have quickly asserted him as the cornerstone of the team. In contrast, while Sabonis has continued to perform well for the Kings, the trade has allowed the Pacers to build a more dynamic and balanced team. This transaction reaction reviews the key factors that have emerged since that famous trade, demonstrating the impact this deal has had on these franchises’ present and future going forward.
Tyrese Halliburton’s Pacers records:
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) June 23, 2024
- Season AST (752)
- 3PM (10) in 1 game
- 15+ AST & 0 TOV in 1 game (x8)
- 40+ PTS & 15+ AST in 1 game
- Career games (54) of 20+ PTS & 10+ AST
- Season games (47) of 10+ AST
- Consecutive games (2) of 20+ AST
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Indiana Pacers added: PG Tyrese Haliburton, SG Buddy Hield, and C Tristan Thompson
Sacramento Kings added: C Domantas Sabonis, F/G Justin Holiday, and G/F Jeremy Lamb
Tyrese Haliburton’s NBA records:
Domantas Sabonis’ NBA records:
Struggling to win a single playoff series since Paul George‘s departure, the Indiana Pacers had to switch things up by trading away their best player for a young, promising Point Guard in Tyrese Haliburton. Sabonis was the established star while Haliburton was the rising phenom with the higher ceiling and lower floor. Haliburton quickly elevated his game after moving to Indy, becoming the best passer in franchise history. In 2023-24, Haliburton recorded 40 more assists than any Pacers player in a season ever (despite missing 13 games).
Indiana also acquired SG Buddy Hield in the trade who continued to be a productive scorer before getting sent to Philadelphia two years later for Doug McDermott and a bunch of 2nd round picks. Considering Hield’s minimal impact on winning games in Indiana, McDermott’s lack of playing time, and the unlikelihood that any of those 2nd round picks will translate into a quality player, this trade was all about acquiring their Point Guard of the future. He’s quickly emerged as the best distributor in basketball who guys want to play with.
Future Outlook: Perennial playoff contender with Haliburton leading the way
With De’Aaron Fox cemented as the main building block in Sactown and the decision to draft Davion Mitchell as his backcourt mate, Tyrese Haliburton became expendable, but only for the right price. A multi-time All-Star who hadn’t even reached his prime yet was an impressive return for a recent No. 12 draft pick. Sabonis provided a perfect pick-and-roll partner for Fox to help supplement ball-handling and facilitating duties. Sabonis has become the best rebounder in the NBA since joining Sacramento and is a triple-double threat every night.
Future Outlook: Quality core to compete in the wild, wild west
Every expectation the Indiana Pacers hoped for when they acquired Tyrese Haliburton has already been exceeded. Haliburton has emerged as an All-NBA level player who proved to be capable of leading a team all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals without any teammates making the All-Star team.
Pascal Siakam has been that level of player in the past and will team up with Haliburton to help Indiana try to win their first Championship since merging into the NBA in 1976. However, it remains to be seen whether the former King is good enough to win a Championship as a team’s top player, but he’s certainly the right kind of piece to build around in search of long-term success and now has a proven champion as his wingman.
Future Outlook: Perennial All-NBA Point Guard with multiple deep playoff runs
As good as Domantas Sabonis was on the Indiana Pacers, he’s been even better since joining the Sacramento Kings. He’s earned top-8 MVP finishes during each of his two full seasons with the Kings as a consistent double-double machine, with triple-doubles becoming more common as well. His 8.2 APG as a big man would be even more impressive if Nikola Jokic wasn’t also dropping dimes left and right. After signing a long-term extension through 2027-28, Sabonis should continue to be an All-NBA player in the Cali Capitol for years to come.
However, his defense has yet to improve much, and he’s been seen as somewhat of a liability defensively in playoff matchups. His lack of consistent shooting abilities also got exposed during the Kings’ 2023 postseason series and 2024 play-in games. As people just saw with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, the combination of defense and spacing the floor as a 3-point shooter is at a premium. Lacking that can lead to poor postseason performances, and Domantas Sabonis will have to develop his game to avoid that.
Future Outlook: All-NBA level Big who isn’t as great in the Playoffs
At the time of the trade, Domantas Sabonis was due to make $18.5M each in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before signing a 4y/$186M extension ($46.5M AAV) that goes through the 2027-28 season. Tyrese Haliburton was still on his 4y/$18M rookie contract at the time of the transaction, making just a fraction of what Sabonis was. This helped Indiana use the excess cap space to acquire his running mate Pascal Siakam, who they just extended as well.
Haliburton signed a rookie max extension last year and made an All-NBA team so he’ll be on the books for 5y/$245M going forward. Indiana got two years of a significantly lower salary, which they leveraged into acquiring another All-Star caliber player to retain him using bird rights and due to their franchise point guard’s young age, have no issues giving him an extra year than Sabonis received, with a few more million per season.
Acquiring Tyrese Haliburton finally gave the Indiana Pacers a franchise player they can build around since Paul George requested a trade. It’s become common for stars in smaller markets to ask out if their team isn’t winning championships but Indiana has built around Haliburton in a way that could lead to success. Siakam was a great addition, while Myles Turner is a top-tier Center, and Andrew Nembhard flashed 20+ PPG potential in the Playoffs. They had to lose their best player in Sabonis, but acquiring Haliburton was certainly worth it.
Grade: A
Losing a young rising phenom in Tyrese Haliburton is never easy but with De’Aaron Fox already entrenched as the starting Point Guard, the Kings had to make a move that would give them the best chance at competing going forward. Acquiring a 25-year-old All-Star in Domantas Sabonis at the time was the best they could possibly expect, which is why they also had to throw in Buddy Hield.
This Kings roster is better with Sabonis on it than Haliburton, but if they perhaps traded Fox for an even more premium player like Kevin Durant or Rudy Gobert and kept Haliburton to be their main distributor instead of Sabonis, could this roster be in a better position to compete for championships? It’s a fair question, but for now, the Kings have a solid young core that is as likely as most teams in the West to run through the gauntlet one year and reach the Finals. Sabonis will certainly have to be better in the postseason for that to happen.
Grade: B+
The Indiana Pacers shipped their best player for a rising star who quickly turned into the NBA’s most elite passer. Indiana went from a mediocre team incapable of winning a playoff series to now reaching the Conference Finals. Sacramento had too many quality young guards on their roster, which forced them to move Haliburton. They acquired an All-Star big man in return, who has helped them emerge as a contender in the West. Both teams got better, but Indiana’s rise alongside Haliburton’s emergence makes them the winners of the deal.
Bottom Line: Both teams got better but Haliburton has made the Pacers better than Sabonis has made the Kings
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