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As Tyrese Haliburton puts it, he "loves hard."
After being drafted 12th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA Draft, he planned on being a King for life. He spoke about hoping to help Sacramento end its prolonged playoff drought, put down roots in the community, and was beginning to emerge as one of the league's brightest young talents.
That made Tuesday all the more stunning. The 21-year-old was eating breakfast at his home when he got a call from his agent saying that he might be getting traded. He called his good friend, 76ers forward and fellow Iowa State Cyclone Georges Niang, and was reacting to the news when the Kings' front office called him to confirm. He was being traded to Indiana along with Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson, with Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, and Jeremy Lamb headed to Sacramento.
"It's just overwhelming," Haliburton told reporters on Thursday, following his first practice with Indiana. "I had no idea, they gave me no indication this was happening."
Thompson and Hield are veterans who have been traded before and seen many teammates dealt away over their time in the league. But this was a brand new experience for Haliburton. He was caught off guard, but it didn't take long for him to find a silver lining.
The move brings Haliburton, who grew up in Oshkosh, Wisc., much closer to home. He went to college at Iowa State and even has family in Kokomo.
"I'm a Midwest kid through and through," he said on Thursday.
It helped as well to have two teammates that he has grown close to along for the ride. The three players flew into Indianapolis together on Wednesday. After undergoing physicals, they met Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle for dinner at Prime 47. They went to the Ascension St. Vincent practice facility for the first time on Thursday morning, where they met their new teammates and went through their first practice.
PHOTO GALLERY: New Players Arrive in Indiana »
Thompson and Hield both said they have spoken to Haliburton, encouraging him to embrace his new home.
"Indiana's a basketball state and the kid loves to hoop," Thompson said. "I think it's perfect."
Still, Haliburton admitted it's hard to not have his guard up somewhat entering a new city.
"It's scary, right?" he said. "I've put a lot of love, a lot of trust in Sacramento and kind of immersed myself in the community and with the people. They got rid of me, but you know that's part of the business. I think that's kind of my best trait. It's like somebody who just loves hard. I want to be here. I want to be a part of it.
"It can be the biggest upside, but it can be a big downfall, too. It hurt when I got traded because I loved being there and I loved the people, but coming here I'm going to do the same thing. They've shown me nothing but love since I've gotten here and they're another organization taking a chance on me (when) they have no reason to. So I'll put everything I've got into it."
There is no question the Pacers want Haliburton. They traded Sabonis, a two-time All-Star under contract through 2024, for him, which says just how highly they think of him.
Just a year and a half into his NBA career, Haliburton has shown plenty of promise. He is an elite shooter both spotting up and off the dribble, knocking down 40.9 percent of his 3-point attempts as a rookie and 41.3 percent through his first 51 games this season. He also is a gifted playmaker, averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 assists (11th most in the NBA) so far this season.
Haliburton said that when he was was preparing for the draft, he was told that Carlisle and the Mavericks really wanted to find a way to trade up for him. That didn't materialize, but a little over a year later, he finds himself playing for Carlisle in Indiana.
Haliburton was a big fan of LeBron James growing up and joked on Thursday that he actually "hated" Carlisle as an 11-year-old, when the Mavericks defeated James' Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.
But he was excited to play for him on Thursday, and the admiration is mutual.
"He's a guy that not only gets a lot of assists, but he gets a lot of 'hockey assists,' the pass that leads to the pass," Carlisle said when the trade became official on Tuesday night. "He's a ball mover, he's an energy giver. He's an elite 3-pointer shooter, 40-plus percent two years in a row. That's a really good indicator. It's exciting."
Thompson knows the Pacers well, having spent the first nine seasons of his career in Cleveland. The Cavaliers visited Gainbridge Fieldhouse twice each year and had knocked out Indiana in the first round of the playoffs in both 2017 and 2018.
Veterans Buddy Hield (left) and Tristan Thompson (right) can bring veteran experience and, in Hield's case, shooting help to Indiana. (Photo Credit: Zach Hughes/Pacers.com)
He was traded to Sacramento from Boston last summer, where he quickly built a rapport with Haliburton. While Thompson will be a free agent this summer, the value of including him in the trade is that he can help Haliburton get acclimated over the most challenging chapter of his young career.
"Ty's all about winning," Thompson said. "He's going to do whatever the team needs him to do that night. The kid loves the game. His feel for basketball – and the state of Indiana knows basketball players, you guys know who can play and who can't play – he's one of those guys that can play.
"He has a great high basketball IQ and that's what you want from your point guard. He's such a student of the game and understands the game. Having that kind of feel this young, it makes coach's life way easier."
Hield, meanwhile, can help the Pacers shore up one of their weaknesses. The Blue & Gold ranked 25th in the NBA in 3-point percentage as of Thursday, making just a third of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Hield and Haliburton have better 3-point percentages than any qualified player on the current Pacers roster. Hield is a career 40-percent shooter from beyond the arc despite taking a high volume of shots. He has averaged nine or more 3-point attempts per game over the last two seasons and he ranks third in the NBA in made 3-pointers this season, trailing only Stephen Curry and Fred VanVleet.
Carlisle called out how both Hield and Haliburton play with a lot passion, something that he thinks Indiana fans will be quick to embrace.
"That's why we play," Hield said. "That's why I wanted to play basketball as a kid. All the energy and emotions and passion the fans have. I wanted to be a part of the game and just to be around that environment. Indiana has great fans. I can't wait to get on the court."
Haliburton also expressed excitement to make his Pacers debut on Friday night, when the Blue & Gold welcome Caris LeVert and the Cavaliers to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, though he admitted it would be an adjustment being thrown in right away with new teammates and a new system.
"It's all going to be a learning process," he said. "I don't know what tomorrow's going to look like. I could play amazing or I could be trash. I have no clue. I'm just ready to go."
Aside from his Midwest roots, Haliburton has plenty of other small ties to the Pacers. He shares an agent and has become good friends with Paul George, who sent him several recommendations for restaurants and a barber in Indianapolis. He also expressed excitement to be teammates with Lance Stephenson, a chief James antagonist in the Pacers' playoff battles with the Heat and Cavs.
Most surprisingly, Haliburton said he wears the number zero in part because of a former Pacer. He said Indiana was his team for a few years when playing NBA2K and he "used to kill" with C.J. Miles, the last Pacer prior to him to don the number.
The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind for Haliburton. The hurt of being traded was real – he admitted he broke down and cried at one point on Tuesday. But it also created a new opportunity and gave him motivation to prove the Kings wrong.
"I think I use everything, whether that was growing up and not being highly recruited or getting in the draft (and) sliding a little bit," Haliburton said. "I use everything I can as that extra edge for me. This is definitely going to add fuel to the fire.
"They didn't want me. They went a different direction. That's part of the business. It happens. I'm just excited to be here."