Tyrese Haliburton thought he was going to be a King for life. That's what he wanted. Then, everything changed.
Last Tuesday, the Kings traded Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Indiana Pacers for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb. On Monday, Haliburton posted a piece on the Players' Tribune, revealing how he heard about the trade and his reaction to his life and plans for the next decade being flipped upside down.
Haliburton's agent called him on the morning of Feb. 8 to let him know there was a chance he could be traded, but said he would keep him posted. A few minutes later, Haliburton's agent called again to let him know that it sounded like he was heading to Indiana. According to Haliburton, Kings general manager Monte McNair called him 90 seconds later.
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“Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that we made a trade, and we’re going to be sending you to Indiana. I wish you the best," McNair said, according to Haliburton.
That was it. Just like that, Haliburton was no longer a King.
After the initial shock wore off, Haliburton sent a message to the Kings' group text to let his now-former teammates know what had happened.
"I just got traded to the Pacers. I love y’all boys," Haliburton wrote.
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Once the news broke, Haliburton got supportive calls from Hield, De'Aaron Fox, interim coach Alvin Gentry, former coach Luke Walton, Harrison Barnes and a FaceTime from Chimezie Metu which Haliburton answered but pointed at the ceiling so Metu wouldn't see him "ugly crying."
It was a move that devastated Haliburton, who said he envisioned building "a legacy" in Sacramento.
"I really, really, really was all in on Sacramento," Haliburton writes. "And I wasn’t shy about it. I would tell people, straight up, 'I want to be that next C-Webb for this city.' That was my whole mindset. I wanted to become one of those players who got drafted somewhere and built a legacy -- on and off the court. I wanted to become someone the people of Sacramento knew was in their corner."
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During his first media availability with the Pacers, Haliburton didn't hold back about how it felt for the Kings to trade him.
"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."
In his first two games as a Pacer, Haliburton is averaging 22.5 points and 11.0 assists per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range.
With Sacramento now in his past, Haliburton is ready to hit the ground running with the Pacers.
"I’m coming to Indiana to leave my imprint, and to help this team do something special," Haliburton writes. "I’m coming here to create a legacy that makes Pacers fans proud."