Making bad decisions isn't a recent issue for the Sacramento Kings. At one point, they had two great guards in De'Aaron Fox and then rookie Tyrese Haliburton. As NBA writer and analyst Dusty Garza recently pointed out, trading Hali created one of the biggest "what if" scenarios in the NBA.
The Kings drafted Fox fifth overall in 2017, an already successful young point guard out of the University of Kentucky. He spent the next three seasons playing great basketball for Sacramento. Still, there was something missing from the team, someone to ride shotgun with Fox.
That's when the 2020 Draft hit, and the Kings selected Tyrese Haliburton 12th overall. Sacramento didn't know it at that point, but they had two of the best guards in the game at the same time and the potential to build something really interesting. Too bad they didn't follow through on it.
Less than two seasons later, Sacramento traded Hali to the Pacers in exchange for center Domantas Sabonis. Everyone knows how that panned out. The Kings have continued to struggle and briefly found limited success while Indiana made the NBA Finals in 2024-2025. It's a stark difference.
Who would the Kings have been with both Fox and Hali?
In a recent social media post, Dusty Garza, an NBA writer and analyst primarily focused on the Spurs, posed a "what if" scenario regarding the Kings. Specifically, has asked what the franchise would have looked like had they let the Fox and Haliburton backcourt partnership play out.
Watching De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton catch up postgame hits a little different when you remember how short-lived their Kings run really was.
— SpursRΞPORTΞR (@SpursReporter) January 3, 2026
Fox was already “the guy” when Haliburton arrived in 2020, but Hali didn’t come in trying to take over. He played off the ball,… pic.twitter.com/dgbXehURZH
Garza is absolutely correct in how Haliburton complemented Fox's gameplay. In the brief time they were together on the court, they showed a lot of potential. It's hard to say exactly how it would have worked in the long run, but there was a good chance that it could have gone really well.
What fans do know is how the path the Kings did follow worked out. They traded Hali away for Sabonis to build around him and Fox. That basically went nowhere. Now, Sacramento has already traded Fox and is looking to do the same with Sabonis. They probably should have stuck with Hali.
Trading Sabonis is part of a long-term rebuild process the Kings are hoping will right the ship. The irony is that process could have started years ago with a backcourt featuring De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Instead, Sacramento watches former players succeed while they flounder.