NBA Trades: Both sides of the Domantas Sabonis-Tyrese Haliburton trade

Indiana Pacers player Domantas Sabonis (C) dribbles a ball past Sacramento Kings player Marvin Bagley (L) during the first pre-season NBA basketball game between Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai on October 4, 2019, NBA Trades: Both sides of the Domantas Sabonis-Tyrese Haliburton trade. (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE / AFP) (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images)

The Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers kicked trade season into high gear Tuesday when they agreed on a six-player trade headlined by Domantas Sabonis, Tyrese Haliburton, and Buddy Hield.

Reactions were mixed, although the consensus seemed to be that it was a negative move for Sacramento. Shocking, we know.

NBA Trades: Both sides of the Domantas Sabonis-Tyrese Haliburton trade

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1491122450205413376

The addition of Sabonis, a two-time All-Star, certainly makes the Kings better now, but is giving up Tyrese Haliburton, a true rising star, and Hield, a top-tier trade chip, worth it? Maybe. That’s what I’m here to decipher.

As a resident NBA fence-sitter, I’ll be looking at the best and worst ramifications of this move from the Kings’ perspective. For the Pacers, it’s pretty clear – it’s time to hit the rebuild button, and they did so at a perfect time. Haliburton can be a true building block of their future plans and they can flip Hield to a contender for even more pieces.

It’s much more complicated from the Kings’ standpoint. Realistically, we won’t truly know if this trade was a good or bad one until years down the road. But let’s look at the different ways this could play out.

Was it a good trade or a bad one for Sacramento? Decide for yourselves after reading these next slides.