Kings fans react to Tyrese Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 29: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Sacramento Kings dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 29, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Kings 103-101, Kings fans react to Tyrese Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The season for NBA trades is officially here, with multiple blockbuster deals going through just the other day. The biggest of the bunch, however, involved the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers.

Domantas Sabonis was sent to the Kings alongside Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday, while the Pacers received Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson.

Does this trade help the Kings improve right now? Yes. Could they end their 15-year playoff drought? Maybe. Were Kings fans happy with the trade? Absolutely not.

Kings fans react to Tyrese Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade

As soon as the trade happened, Kings fans let the world know that they were not happy. Tyrese Haliburton had quickly become a fan favorite in Sactown.

Over the past couple of months, Haliburton has been playing some great basketball, and reports even came out that both he and De’Aaron Fox were untouchable in trade talks.

Since the start of December, Haliburton has averaged 16.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 8.9 assists while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 42.8 percent from behind the three-point line.

His recent play had led a lot of Kings fans to believe the backcourt of Fox and Haliburton could harry them into the future, but now that is no longer possible.

Kings Twitter was set ablaze, Kings Reddit was on fire, and even NBA Twitter got in on the action, making fun of the Kings organization and their fans as a whole.

Needless to say, the general consensus was that the Pacers won this trade by a landslide. The idea behind it is that Haliburton is younger, on a cheaper contract, and under team control for a longer period of time.

For right now, though, this trade should help the Kings improve. Adding a two-time All-Star in Domantas Sabonis alongside Fox should help them compete for the play-in tournament.

However, in the long-term, this trade bodes well for the Pacers. They get a young combo guard in Haliburton to pair with Chris Duarte and a potential lottery pick this season.

Sactown hasn’t made the playoffs for 15 years, and maybe Sabonis can help with that. But in the end, the city doesn’t seem too pleased with the deal.

Sorry, Kings fans.