After falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA Play-In Tournament, the Sacramento Kings' 2024-25 season is now over, meaning that for the second straight year (and the 18th time in the last 19 seasons), they will not be participating in the postseason.
This is probably not what the Kings had in mind in February of 2022 when they negotiated a blockbuster trade with the Indiana Pacers.
Kings may be regretting the Tyrese Haliburton trade
During the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline, the Kings and Pacers participated in a monster deal that was centered around Sacramento trading Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis.
To his credit, Sabonis has been a highly productive player for the Kings. This season, Sabonis notched 61 double-doubles, making it the third straight year he's had over 60 of these types of games. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Sabonis is only the sixth player since the ABA-NBA merger to pull this off.
He also led the league in Rebounds Per Game, Defensive Rebounds Per Game, Defensive Rebounds Per 36 Minutes, Defensive Rebounds Per 100 Possessions, Defensive Rebound Percentage, and Total Rebound Percentage.
In my eyes, Sabonis is the Kings' best player, and if they want to re-tool their roster, he should be the one that they prioritize this offseason. Thisisn't intended to be an obstruction on Sabonis as a basketball player, but it is hard to ignore what the Kings gave up to get him.
The Pacers didn't make the playoffs in Haliburton's first season with the team like the Kings did with Sabonis, but they've been rocking and rolling since then.
Last year, the Pacers shocked the world by winning 12 more games than they did in 2022-23 and advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014.
This year's team seems even more formidable than that group. They won three more games than last year and finished with a higher seeding, and they now hold a commanding 2-0 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2025 Playoffs.
If the Pacers go on to win this series against Milwaukee, that will be the third series they have won since the Haliburton/Sabonis trade. Meanwhile, the Kings' total in that category is still at zero.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but, man, are the Kings wishing they could undo that Haliburton/Sabonis trade right about now.