The Pacers and Kings Just Did Something Kind of Big

Two days before the NBA’s 2022 trade deadline, the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings agreed to the first pre-deadline blockbuster. Tuesday’s deal focused on Sacramento receiving the former All Star, Domantas Sabonis, and Indiana acquiring promising young guard, Tyrese Haliburton. The rest of the package included Sacramento acquiring Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, and a 2023 2nd round pick. Indiana also acquired Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. Let’s break this deal down.

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Sacramento made it clear over the past few weeks they had full intentions on chasing a playoff berth. As of writing this, the Kings sit 2.5 games out of the 10th spot and a place in the play-in tournament. Bringing in the 2021 All Star, Domantas Sabonis, should help but did they give up too much?

Even after the 2021 campaign, Sabonis has remained one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA. Some of that can be credited to playing in Indiana, the other, probably on a Pacers team that has been nothing more than a middle of the pack team over the past few years. The 25-year-old forward has averaged over 19 points and 12 rebounds the past two seasons.

During his time in the NBA, there’s always been questions about Sabonis’ fit as a power forward, next to Myles Turner. In Sacramento, he should see most of his use as a center, where he is a matchup nightmare for opposing big men. Sabonis has shot a respectable 32% from 3 over the past 2 seasons.

Such a move should also open up more minutes for 2021 1st round pick, Davion Mitchell, who has struggled to be efficient in his first NBA season. Whether or not he picks up on those numbers, could be a key component to Sacramento’s pursuit of the 10 seed. Both Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb should also become key contributors for the Kings rotation.

Justin Holiday’s success will widely fall on how well he can make the 3. He is a career 36% shooter from deep and should help a Sacramento team that ranks towards the bottom in 3-point percentage. Holiday has another year remaining on his deal, insisting he could be a multi-year solution for the Kings.

The final piece of the deal is 10-year veteran, Jeremy Lamb, another player who shoots the 3 very well. Lamb, like Holiday, is a very good shooter from deep, sitting at 34% over the course of his career. Differing from Holiday, Lamb is a free agent at the end of the season, so barring an offseason resigning, this would be the definition of a rental.

Sacramento has made it clear that they’re all in, hoping to end the league’s longest playoff drought at 16 years. Domantas Sabonis is an All-Star caliber player who will slide in as the Kings primary scoring option. Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb are solid rotation pieces who should help space the floor.

It’s less about what Sacramento acquired, but more about what they gave up. Tyrese Haliburton has arguably been the Kings best player over the course of the 2021-22 season and they decide to ship him off.

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From the Indiana side of the deal, it looks to be exactly what they were hoping to accomplish, kick off a rebuild. Going as far back as October, there were reports that the Pacers were ready to sell some pieces and start a new era. A trade like this, should do exactly that.

Haliburton, the second-year guard from Iowa State, has shown his upside in this league is immense. Even playing as the 2-guard in Sacramento, Haliburton put up over 7 assists, while averaging 14 points. His jumpshot motion is always going to give teams a headache, but the ball finds its way into the basket.

What Indiana does before 3pm is going to play a large part in deciding Haliburton’s role for the remainder of the season. There have been rumors that Indiana is interested in moving more of their cast, most notably Malcolm Brogdon, TJ Warren, and Lance Stephenson. It seems like the Pacers now plan on keeping Myles Turner, so that should help Haliburton regardless.

Haliburton and Turner could form a nice pick-and-roll/pop duo for Indiana over the next five years. The emergence of 2021 1st round pick, Chris Duarte, will also help the Pacers going forward. These three plus their 2022 1st round pick is going to give Indiana a nice foundation as they head into this next era.

Don’t expect Buddy Hield to stay in Indiana long. According to NBA writer, Michael Scotto, “The Pacers are open to flipping Buddy Hield to another team before the deadline Thursday.” Of the teams that Hield could end up with, Philadelphia seems most likely, if they’re able to complete a Ben Simmons deal. Such a trade for Indiana would make sense, as Hield still as two years and over $40 million remaining on his contract.

The final piece of the deal, Tristan Thompson, looks to be nothing more than an expiring contract to make the money work. Indiana could also try and flip him before Thursday’s deadline but a deal for him may be more difficult to find. If he stays with in Indiana, he could serve as a backup big man for a Pacers team who will try to get the best possible draft pick.

Sacramento and Indiana have made it clear which directions they’re headed in for the remainder of the season. The Kings want a playoff spot, while Indiana wants to continue building for the future. Will this be the final move for both teams? We’ll find out over the remainder of the day.