“The league is stunned” - Adrian Wojnarowski on the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers trade involving Domantas Sabonis, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield etc.
The Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings sent shockwaves throughout the NBA on Tuesday with a deal involving Domantas Sabonis and Tyrese Haliburton.
With the trade deadline Thursday, the trade between the Pacers and Kings shocked the basketball world, because many were surprised the 21-year-old Haliburton was involved in the deal. Insiders said the Kings could have gotten more in return for their promising young talent.
In the deal, Sacramento will also send Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson with Haliburton to the Pacers, with Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday heading to the Kings.
It had been reported that the Pacers were looking to move one of their starting frontcourt players, either Sabonis or Myles Turner.
On ESPN's "NBA Today" on Tuesday, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski spoke about the surprise around the league:
"The league is stunned at this trade."
Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings shake things up with trade involving Domantas Sabonis and Tyrese Haliburton
The trade between the Pacers and Kings could be one of the biggest deals this season.
Guard Tyrese Haliburton was becoming one of the rising stars with the Sacramento Kings. In just his second year, Haliburton, from Iowa State, showed the potential to develop into a franchise building block. The 21-year-old was averaging 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game while shooting 45.7% (41.3% from 3-point range).
Hailburton and Duarte are going to one hell of a back court!!! Carry on… twitter.com/wojespn/status…
The acquisition for the Pacers is a big one, as Haliburton now joins promising rookie Chris Duarte to give Indiana a promising backcourt duo.
It's a massive move for the Sacramento Kings as well, as the team acquires one of the most versatile big men in the NBA in Domantas Sabonis. Sacramento was expected to be active around the deadline, and it looks as if the team is attempting to make drastic changes to its roster.
Sabonis, an All-Star the previous two seasons, has been one of the top players at his position and should be a valuable building block for the organization. For the Pacers, the sixth-year player was averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 58.0%.
Sabonis, 25, is the son of legendary big man Arvydas Sabonis, a Hall of Famer who played seven NBA seasons in the twilight of his career.