Buddy Hield wanted something more from a basketball standpoint, and he found it with the Indiana Pacers.
The former Kings guard who was traded to the Pacers on Feb. 8 faced Sacramento for the first time since the deal on Wednesday. Hield scored 25 points against his former team, but made a crucial late-game turnover and the Kings stunned the Pacers 110-109 on Damian Jones' game-winning tip-in.
After the game, Hield spoke about how his role with the Pacers is different from what he was asked to do in Sacramento.
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"I'm proud of myself," Hield told reporters after the game. "I was able to do a lot of things I wasn't able to do over there in Sacramento. I make plays for my teammates. [Rick Carlisle] has trusted me a lot to do more, and that's something I wanted to do. In Sacramento, they didn't let me do that. I was just a guy to stand in the corner and just catch and shoot. Change is great for me. I'm happy with the change."
Tyrese Haliburton, who was the centerpiece of the deal that sent center Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento, also has enjoyed a larger role in Indianapolis.
"I'm a lead guard here," Haliburton said when asked to assess the differences in his role with the Kings and the Pacers. "I'm playing the point full time. The ball is in my hands more."
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Playing alongside De'Aaron Fox, Haliburton was asked to play off the ball more during his one-and-a-half seasons in Sacramento. Haliburton has said he wanted to be King forever, but the Kings felt their best course forward was to break up the backcourt tandem and bring in an All-Star center in Sabonis.
As the Kings plot their course forward behind the Fox and Ox tandem, Haliburton and Hield have found a new home in Indianapolis. A home that's giving them some things they feel they didn't get in Sacramento.