Breaking: The Sacramento Kings have acquired All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers
The NBA has been shaken up in the last few hours as two blockbuster trades have already happened. The Portland Trail Blazers recently traded CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans in a package around Josh Hart and draft compensation. According to ‘Legion Hoops', the Sacramento Kings have traded Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Triston Thompson to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday!
The Indiana Pacers have been hinting at the possibility of rebuilding their team from the beginning of the 2021 off-season. With Caris LeVert and Domantas Sabonis being traded to different organizations, the Pacers are officially in rebuild mode and will most likely move Myles Turner before the deadline.
The duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis has the potential of being one of the best duos in the NBA today. However, the price it took to attain Sabonis was arguably too high as Tyrese Haliburton has shown All-Star potential in just his first two seasons. While the Kings needed to improve their roster, they will regret trading Haliburton as he will become one of the NBA’s best guards after this trade.
While the Kings had to trade a lot to get Sabonis, his time with the Indiana Pacers will not be forgotten. In his five seasons with the organization, Sabonis became a two-time All-Star while leading the Pacers to multiple playoff appearances. Despite those appearances leading to first-round exits, Sabonis proved that he could lead a team to the playoffs. With the Sacramento Kings not making the playoffs for nearly two decades, the leadership of Sabonis will help elevate the Kings in potentially making a strong playoff push this season.
Currently, the Kings are the thirteenth seed with a record of 20-35 while only being two games out of the play-in tournament. With the Portland Trail Blazers being significantly worse after their two blockbuster trades this season, a door has been open for the Kings as the Blazers are currently the eleventh seed while only being .5 games away from the tenth seed. The duo of Fox and Sabonis could be enough for the Kings to make a dramatic push to the play-in tournament, which is an excellent step in the right direction.
The Indiana Pacers are now a completely different team as they have traded most of their depth for young assets and draft picks. Haliburton is the best asset that the Pacers have received in their two trades this season, as the Pacers have a young star to build around for many years to come. Overall, this trade benefits both teams’ needs as the Kings have a solid dynamic duo to build towards making a playoff appearance. In contrast, the Indiana Pacers have a great start in building towards a rebuild in hopes of winning a championship in years to come. While the Kings gave up a lot in Haliburton, the potential of Sabonis on the Kings elevates their chances far greater in making the playoffs than keeping Haliburton.
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