preface
This season's NBA has entered the end stage, in order to compete for a place in the playoffs, teams in the east and west have done their best, and the intensity of the game can be imagined. Looking back at all the teams this year, if there is one that surprises, it must be the Sacramento Kings, who have never tasted the playoffs in 16 consecutive seasons, setting an extremely embarrassing record. However, their record has improved rapidly this season, and they are now ranked third in the West, allowing Kings fans to vaguely see the powerful "Princeton" Kings at the beginning of this century.
And the reason why the Kings were able to complete the comeback, before the trade deadline last season, they made a big deal with the Pacers was absolutely indispensable, this deal involving 6 people, now it seems to be an absolute win-win, the Kings completed the revival, and the Pacers won the future, especially Daron Fox ushered in a qualitative change this season, not only played a perfect performance of 25.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game, but also became the league's new "king of the last season", but also finally entered the All-Star. Below, let's take a look at the 6 people in this deal, how they are developing today!
Domantas Sabonis
Sabonis Jr. during the Pacers period was actually an All-Star-level player and had led the team to the playoffs, but his time in Indiana was not so satisfactory overall, after all, they could only be in the first round of the Eastern Conference, and the final result was that the Pacers began to rebuild and Sam was put on the shelf. The Kings took a fancy to Sa's good offensive and conductive abilities, so they acquired him through a trade. Although it is true that the defensive aspect is not Sasa's strong point, with the arrival of coach Mike Brown this season, the establishment of a defensive system has greatly covered up Sa's shortcomings, allowing him to play to the fullest on the offensive end.
This season, Sa is averaging 19 points, 12.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, shooting an astonishing 60.8% from the field, ranking in the top 10 in the league in rebounds, assists and shooting percentage, especially the first in the league in rebounds. His importance to this Kings team can even surpass Fox, under his scheduling, the Kings can now average the league's first 120.9 points per game, the second largest number of assists 27.2, and the offensive efficiency is an astonishing 118.6, and he is also back in the ranks of All-Star players after 1 year. Throughout the current NBA, in addition to Joel Embiid and Jokic, Sa has secured the third place in the center position.
Thales Halliburton
If the Kings got Sasa Jr., completed the counterattack, and thus won the present, then the Pacers who got Haliburton can be said to have won the future. Back in the trade deadline last season, when the deal happened, most media pundits and even Kings fans were angry with Haliburton, who saw it as a potential to become a future top point guard, and this season was immediately fulfilled.
The Pacers, who are aiming to rebuild, immediately placed Haliburton as the core of the team, and at only 23 years old, he lived up to the team's expectations, improving his own statistics to 20.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists, in addition to shooting and three-point shooting as high as 48.8% and 40.3%, respectively, which is a perfect point guard data sheet, these numbers alone are enough to show how strong Haliburton is. Haliburton gives the impression of a terrifying big picture on the court, and his performance in key moments is extremely exciting, and his assist rate has reached 46.2% of the league's first, plus good scoring ability, once the Pacers can attract power, then Indiana's rise is just around the corner.
Buddy Heard
Despite his limited talent and the fact that he was already an older rookie when he entered the NBA, Buddy Hield has never been included in the discussion of star players, but if you talk about three-point ability alone, then his strength is completely comparable to top stars such as Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry. After being traded to the Pacers, although he was still put on the trade shelf from time to time, this did not affect Hield's steady play, and so far this season, the 30-year-old guard is still averaging 17.1 points, 5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, including 265 three-pointers on 42.5% three-point shooting, ranking first in the league for all players. I have to say that Hield is indeed eye-catching, and his annual salary is only $18.57 million when his contract expires next season, but I think how many teams will make an offer to the Pacers this summer, after all, no one will refuse such a great three-point shooter.
Jeremy Lamb
After the above three players were traded, they have more or less improved a lot, and the help to the team is also visible to the naked eye, but the development of three players is not so brilliant. The Pacers sent away Sabonis Jr. at the same time, and sent Jeremy Lamb away, who is only 30 years old this year, and may be known to many fans as the magical midfield three-point shootout against the Raptors during the Hornets, throughout Lamb's career, he can also average 10.1 points per game. 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists, but he was plagued by injuries during his time with the Pacers and his form was not as good as before, and after playing 17 games with the Kings last season, the Kings did not renew his contract due to injury, and he faded out of the NBA as he was also unpopular in free agency.
Justin Holladay
As one of Holladay's three brothers, Justin, in his 2 and a half years with the Pacers, also had a single-season performance of 10.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists, but because the team began to rebuild, he was naturally excluded from the team's plan. Although he started 22 games after being traded to the Kings, averaging 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, the Kings also did not choose to sign him. He signed with the Hawks earlier this season, but was sent to the Rockets before the trade deadline and agreed to buy out with the Rockets. The Lone Ranger, who is looking for a forward line, signed Holladay and is currently in the Dallas rotation, averaging 4.6 points per game, and the performance is relatively satisfying to coach Jason Kidd.
Tristan Thompson
Finally, let's talk about Tristan Thompson, Thompson is only 32 years old as part of the Cavaliers' miracle victory, but since he left Cleveland, he has wandered around the NBA. Thompson was sent to the Pacers by the Kings in that trade, and after only four games for his new club, Thompson was laid off and chose the Bulls as his next home. Although he averaged 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, he was directly abandoned by coach Donovan in the playoffs. Since then, Thompson has faded out of the NBA, and it may be difficult to return to this stage in the future. Behind Thompson's lack of the ball is the sadness of the traditional interior line, after all, in today's small-ball era, without a stable mid-range shooting ability, it is almost impossible to gain a foothold in the NBA, coupled with Thompson's "thorn attribute", it is naturally difficult for players willing to take over.