Woj: Domantas Sabonis, J. Lamb, J. Holiday Traded to Sacramento for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, T. Thompson

[ILOVEIT]

This move by the kings reeks of "Philly won't give us Simmons? Oh we'll show them they blew it!"

...by trading a way an obvious young winner on a cheap contract.

But I don't hate the results of the trade. Kings roll with Fox and Sabonis...both all-star level players when motivated.

They SHOULD have dump Harrison Barnes in this deal though instead of Buddy.

[chilluminati]

Bagley is still on the roster, and they traded for the better version of him. Do the kings have a hard on for non-defensive bigs? Not to mention they traded Hali ... Oof.

[Bologna Smasher]

This move by the kings reeks of "Philly won't give us Simmons? Oh we'll show them they blew it!"

...by trading a way an obvious young winner on a cheap contract.

But I don't hate the results of the trade. Kings roll with Fox and Sabonis...both all-star level players when motivated.

They SHOULD have dump Harrison Barnes in this deal though instead of Buddy.

Barnes actually has value though. Hield doesn't really have any with his current deal.

[Sothron]

People are really underselling how good Sabonis is. I am surprised Sac gave up on Haliburton who is good and on a rookie scale contract which is like platinum value though. Sabonis will make any team he's on a better team because of his ability to play and pass in the low or high post and he rebounds very well. He's not a shot blocker or a great three point shooter but everything else he checks off. It isn't his fault the Pacers record is as bad as it is.

This. It Sabonis were 34 years old or something I’d understand a lot of the outrage. What “direction” do people want the Kings to go in? That can’t all be shown in one trade. They got the best player in the deal and a young one at that. Haliburton has the chance to be an All star one day IF he continues to improve. Being 21 years old doesn’t guarantee that improvement

It really is surprising me to see some of the reaction. Sabonis is a walking 20/10 player that can easily get you 5 or more assists a game. He has high basketball IQ and plays positional defense pretty well. I know people want the Kings to stay in "rebuilding" mode forever it seems but at some point you need better talent. Right now Sabonis is easily the best player in this trade. So the Kings can't stay on the lottery treadmill and keep picking up guard after guard after guard. This creates a pathway for a more stable front court and creates better rotations in the backcourt.

I totally get some Kings fans being furious about this but it is clear Fox wasn't getting any bites on the trade market. They gave up a valuable young guy to get a proven All Star big man back. Why can't both teams win a trade?

[JDR720]

In a vacuum, Sabonis for Hal is a fine trade. Basically swapping an all-star big for a probable all-star guard.

However, I don't get it for Sacramento. They're not a good team. Trading for Sabonis, an established all-star, doesn't make sense for them. They're still trying to rebuild, and Hal was one of their main pieces. Sabonis isn't good enough to take them out of a rebuild.

[Pointgod]

One thing that I think a lot of people have missed is how good Davion Mitchell has looked since being inserted into the starting lineup. I think he's averaging like 19 points and 6 assists on good percentages since becoming starter.

I'm interested to see how he plays with Haliburton (and Fox for now) out. If he continues to improve, Fox could still be made available in trades this off-season or next year.

I was higher on the Mitchell pick than most people. Thought he’s a great for for the Kings, the team didn’t need another project. However I feel that’s a lot to put on a rookie. I know Lamb and Holiday will fill in minutes at the SG/SF but Bagley, Holmes, Len, Jones, Metu still need minutes at the 4/5. I didn’t love this trade for either team, even though Sacramento gets the best player in the deal.

[cgf]

This move by the kings reeks of "Philly won't give us Simmons? Oh we'll show them they blew it!"

...by trading a way an obvious young winner on a cheap contract.

But I don't hate the results of the trade. Kings roll with Fox and Sabonis...both all-star level players when motivated.

They SHOULD have dump Harrison Barnes in this deal though instead of Buddy.

Barnes actually has value though. Hield doesn't really have any with his current deal.

Yeah. Hield's deal isn't a negative that teams need to be paid to take, but guys like him, THJr, & Fournier just don't have all that much value once they start making market value. Whereas a two-way wing like Barnes does.

[KGtabake]

I like Domas in Sacramento. Logically, they will ship Holmes now too.
Good for Indy too.
Good trade.

[Slim Charlez]

I don't hate it. Haliburton is a nice player and ideally you'd want to get rid of Fox instead, but I think people are underrating Sabonis here. He's young with room to grow, is an All Star who Sacramento would have no chance of getting without giving up something, I'm still not convinced that this is who Fox is, I can see him bouncing back under the right conditions. IDK I think people would have a different reaction if it was another franchise trading Haliburton for Sabonis.

The paint is clogged for Fox now with Sabonis/Holmes there. And they have zero spacing right now.


I don't think people is saying Sabonis is bad, but as a "win now" move this trade is horrible because the composition of that roster is just bollocks.

Surely they're moving Holmes.... Right????

[Bologna Smasher]

One thing that I think a lot of people have missed is how good Davion Mitchell has looked since being inserted into the starting lineup. I think he's averaging like 19 points and 6 assists on good percentages since becoming starter.

I'm interested to see how he plays with Haliburton (and Fox for now) out. If he continues to improve, Fox could still be made available in trades this off-season or next year.

I was higher on the Mitchell pick than most people. Thought he’s a great for for the Kings, the team didn’t need another project. However I feel that’s a lot to put on a rookie. I know Lamb and Holiday will fill in minutes at the SG/SF but Bagley, Holmes, Len, Jones, Metu still need minutes at the 4/5. I didn’t love this trade for either team, even though Sacramento gets the best player in the deal.

I don't think any of these guys other than Holmes (or whatever we trade him for) are in the long term plans, so I don't think they're too worried about getting them minutes. Metu has made some progress but he's still barely a rotational player on a good team.

[Badonkadonk]

Can't decide which team did worse, Portland or Sacramento.

Absolutely dreadful decision by the Kings. They could have held teams at ransom for Haliburton if he was openly in play, and I wouldn't have even had him in play given he was the only obvious building block for the long-term.

Give Fox and Sabonis' limitations, I'm not sure what they're building towards.

edit - forgot Mitchell, he's definitely a building block

[Nuntius]

Alright, I've settled down a bit so it's time to say a couple of things.

I consider this trade a win-win. I'm **** ELATED that we got Haliburton but I'm also sad to see Domas go. He was one of my favorite Pacers and he is a legitimately good player. Some people have said that he's a no-defense big and that's just not accurate. Sabonis has one very specific defensive limitation. He is not a rim protector. He doesn't have the combination of size, vertical leaping ability, length and timing to be a rim protector. And, yes, protecting the rim is pivotal for a 5 in the modern day. That's exactly why I don't view Sabonis as a 5 on the defensive end. In my opinion, Sabonis is a PF on defense. That's the position that he guards the best. Play Sabonis next to a rim protecting 5 (like we did) and you won't have much issues on the defensive end. I also need to point out that our big-man combo wasn't the reason why we've struggled these last couple of years. The main reason for us sucking was the guard play that was exacerbated by injuries.

Which is a big reason why I'm elated that we got Haliburton. Not only is a young and very promising player, he also solves a major need for us. He is exactly what we needed. **** awesome!

[Bologna Smasher]

Alright, I've settled down a bit so it's time to say a couple of things.

I consider this trade a win-win. I'm **** ELATED that we got Haliburton but I'm also sad to see Domas go. He was one of my favorite Pacers and he is a legitimately good player. Some people have said that he's a no-defense big and that's just not accurate. Sabonis has one very specific defensive limitation. He is not a rim protector. He doesn't have the combination of size, vertical leaping ability, length and timing to be a rim protector. And, yes, protecting the rim is pivotal for a 5 in the modern day. That's exactly why I don't view Sabonis as a 5 on the defensive end. In my opinion, Sabonis is a PF on defense. That's the position that he guards the best. Play Sabonis next to a rim protecting 5 (like we did) and you won't have much issues on the defensive end. I also need to point out that our big-man combo wasn't the reason why we've struggled these last couple of years. The main reason for us sucking was the guard play that was exacerbated by injuries.

Which is a big reason why I'm elated that we got Haliburton. Not only is a young and very promising player, he also solves a major need for us. He is exactly what we needed. **** awesome!

I know a lot of fellow Kings fans are pissed, but it really is a good deal for both sides in terms of value.

Pacers look like they won't have to bottom out for too long with the assets they're picking up and the pieces already in place. Still have to get something for Turner and Brogdon as well.

[The Rebel]

In a vacuum, Sabonis for Hal is a fine trade. Basically swapping an all-star big for a probable all-star guard.

However, I don't get it for Sacramento. They're not a good team. Trading for Sabonis, an established all-star, doesn't make sense for them. They're still trying to rebuild, and Hal was one of their main pieces. Sabonis isn't good enough to take them out of a rebuild.

How long are the Kings going to rebuild and hope guys develop? At some point there is a lot of value in bringing in an allstar caliber talent and hoping the young guys you have develop further.

I know people are high on Haliburton, but the hope is that one day he becomes the level of player Sabonis is already at, and they get off Heild and Thompson, both guys they have wanted moved for a while.

I also am a fan of HOliday, I think he is a good defender to pair with Fox and Mitchell to give them a chance at having real perimeter defense.

[MrGoat]

So the Kings look at Indy and see the mediocre fit between Sabonis and Turner and think: how can we make this worse?

Sabonis and Holmes seem like a terrible fit. Holmes is worse shooter and worse defender than Turner. Is there a follow up trade in the works to move Holmes because this seems stupid.

This is the Kings we're talking about. After the Mavs imploded after trading for Rondo the Kings tried to sign both Monta Ellis and Rajon Rondo because they saw how they played in Dallas together and thought "hey let's get some of that". It didn't happen because Monta took an ill advised deal with the Pacers for less money once he saw the Kings make an offer to him

Completely different era and front office

I thought so too until I saw this trade

[dakomish23]

People are really underselling how good Sabonis is. I am surprised Sac gave up on Haliburton who is good and on a rookie scale contract which is like platinum value though. Sabonis will make any team he's on a better team because of his ability to play and pass in the low or high post and he rebounds very well. He's not a shot blocker or a great three point shooter but everything else he checks off. It isn't his fault the Pacers record is as bad as it is.

This. It Sabonis were 34 years old or something I’d understand a lot of the outrage. What “direction” do people want the Kings to go in? That can’t all be shown in one trade. They got the best player in the deal and a young one at that. Haliburton has the chance to be an All star one day IF he continues to improve. Being 21 years old doesn’t guarantee that improvement

It really is surprising me to see some of the reaction. Sabonis is a walking 20/10 player that can easily get you 5 or more assists a game. He has high basketball IQ and plays positional defense pretty well. I know people want the Kings to stay in "rebuilding" mode forever it seems but at some point you need better talent. Right now Sabonis is easily the best player in this trade. So the Kings can't stay on the lottery treadmill and keep picking up guard after guard after guard. This creates a pathway for a more stable front court and creates better rotations in the backcourt.

I totally get some Kings fans being furious about this but it is clear Fox wasn't getting any bites on the trade market. They gave up a valuable young guy to get a proven All Star big man back. Why can't both teams win a trade?

Who’s to say they wouldn’t have broken through and gotten of them lottery treadmill by keeping Hali and letting him develop while you add more pieces around him?

That’s the bet I would have taken but I also am super high on the kid, so I’m biased.

[DirtyDez]

Does this mean they would’ve done Halliburton and Hield for Simmons?

[Antinomy]

What the hell are Kings doing here?

[sackings916]

Does this mean they would’ve done Halliburton and Hield for Simmons?

I believe so. I think the issue was the sixers wanted more on top of that, probably multiple 1sts.

[xBulletproof]

As a Pacers fan I couldn't be more excited, honestly. I was so burned out watching this mismatched team. With Hali, Brogdon, and Duarte, I'm wondering if Brogdon isn't on borrowed time. Or does Duarte become a 6th man. I mean, honestly one of them can play the SF.

Hali/Duarte/Brogdon/Jackson/Turner ..... I actually am kind of interested in seeing that lineup. I know most here won't know Isiah Jackson, but he's looked very good so far. Even shooting the 3. Looking forward to some Hali-Jackson lobs.