Pacers-Kings involved in six-man trade that sends Sabonis to Sacramento

The Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings send shockwaves through the rest of the NBA with a blockbuster trade ahead of the deadline. 

Despite the NBA Trade Deadline still being a few days away, we are already seeing some trades that are leaving fans and media shaking their head. A wild one just went down between the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings; but who is the real winner of this deal?

Sacramento traded:

• Tristan Thompson (PF/C)
• Buddy Hield (SG)
• Tyrese Haliburton (PG)

Indiana traded:

• Domantas Sabonis (C/PF)
• Jeremy Lamb (SG/SF)
• Justin Holiday (SG/SF)
• 2027 second-round pick

At first glance, I did not like this trade at all. It took me a while to compare the players traded and look at how they could impact their news teams down the road. Both the Pacers and Kings are receiving a fair amount of talent that may just be what the team needs to make a playoff run after All-Star weekend.

To start,  I think the winner of this trade overall is Indiana. They were able to upgrade the team even losing some big-name players like Sabonis and Lamb. The Kings did not get swindled, though. Sacramento was able to add some talent to their roster even with the loss of veteran Buddy Hield and the young promising point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Both the Kings and the Pacers are in similar positions right now as they are towards the bottom of their respective conferences. With a record of 19-36, the Pacers are in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. The Kings currently have a record of 20-35 and are ironically in 13th place as well, just in the Western Conference. Having both played the same number of games, only 27 more remain in the NBA regular season.

After this trade, both of these teams need to be focused on making the Play-In Tournament.

That is where the team’s goals need to be right now. Make the Play-In Tournament somehow in these final 27 games to try and make a run in the playoffs. The Pacers are seven games back right now from being the 10 seed that is held by the Atlanta Hawks. Sacramento is only two games back from the current 10th seed held by the New Orleans Pelicans.

The biggest reason I think that the Pacers won this trade is because of the players they received. In my opinion, the only part of the trade that they lost was Sabonis for Thompson. I really thought that Sabonis was a guy that the Pacers loved and he was a huge piece in their roster. His numbers this season are significantly better than Thompson but I guess the Pacers were willing to let Sabonis go to get Hield and Haliburton.

Comparing Jeremy Lamb to Tyrese Haliburton, I think Haliburton is clearly better just for how well he is playing in his rookie season. He’s averaging 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists. Lambs’ numbers are much below Haliburton and that is the reason why Indiana won this part of the trade. Adding a 21-year-old (with a higher ceiling) who is currently playing better than your 29-year-old player is a massive win and upgrade.

Finally, Sacramento traded away Hield who was in his sixth year with the franchise for the 32-year-old veteran Justin Holiday. The two’s numbers this season are very similar but Indiana wins this part of the trade for me because Hield (29) is slightly younger than Holiday who turns 33 in April. He just has that much more time left than Holiday who is most likely coming to the end of his career in the next few seasons.

It will be exciting to see what the players bring to their new teams. Will the franchises be happy with the deal they have made, or will this be a ghost that haunts them down the road? Revenge will indeed be available for those who are unhappy in the trade. The Pacers will be in Sacramento on Wednesday, March 23, to take on the Kings. Get your popcorn ready!