Tyrese Haliburton is the latest bright spot for a Kings franchise that continues to underwhelm
Examining Tyrese Haliburton's recent uptick in production.
What’s that, you say? Good news coming out of Sacramento? It’s hard to believe for an organization that has made a home in the NBA basement for years now. But, it’s true. The Kings should feel good about their sophomore guard Tyrese Haliburton, who just recorded his fourth consecutive 20-point, 10-assist game.
Sacramento lost the game. In fact, the Kings have lost three of those four Haliburton 20/10 games. But that’s beside the point. The second-year guard out of Iowa State is quietly having a really strong second season. His stats are only a minimal upgrade from Year 1 to 2, which is why his odds at Tipico are relatively long at +30000 for Most Improved Player. However, it seems as though Sacramento has found a long-term backcourt piece that could be the key to creating a path towards competitiveness and relevancy.
The Kings have a bit of a logjam at the guard position, though. You know the names — De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Davion Mitchell, and Tyrese, of course. Each player is young and provides value for the team, while also being valuable a trade piece should the team look to upgrade another position of need.
Hield’s name has been floated around in trade speculation for years, and De’Aaron fox has recently become a mildly-popular name thrown around in fan-proposed trades. If one of those two ends up departing, Haliburton can fill either of the two guard positions in the starting unit. That would help the Kings shore up their roster elsewhere.
The Kings have a 13-20 record and would miss the playoffs if the season ended today. That would extend the playoff drought to 16 straight seasons—a streak the team is very aware of. Management has already shown former head coach Luke Walton the door, so more organizational changes could be on the way.
Don’t expect Haliburton to be on the move. He’ll be key in Sacramento’s push for the playoffs, where it hasn’t been since 2006.
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