All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton was one of several free agency winners on Friday night, as he signed a lucrative contract extension to remain with the Pacers for the long haul.
Haliburton agreed to a five-year maximum contract extension with Indiana worth up to $260 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, as he cements himself as a franchise cornerstone with the Pacers.
So how did Haliburton react to the life changing deal? By channeling his inner “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase from WWE. Here’s the video Haliburton posted to his personal Twitter account late on Friday night.
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) July 1, 2023
Extending Haliburton was an absolute no-brainer for the Pacers, who acquired him during the 2021–22 season in a package that send Domantas Sabonis to the Kings. At the time of the trade, Haliburton didn’t hold back on his thoughts regarding the Sacramento organization that drafted him with the 12th pick in 2020.
“Yeah, they didn’t want me,” he said. “They went a different direction. That’s part of the business. It happens. I’m excited to be here, excited to get going. It’s scary, right? I put a lot of love, a lot of trust in Sacramento and kind of immersed myself in the community, with the people. They just got rid of me. That’s part of the business. That’s probably my best trait is like somebody who just loves hard. I want to be here. I want to be part of it. It can be my biggest upside but it can be a big downfall too. It hurt when I got traded. I loved being there and I loved the people. But coming here, I’m gonna do the same thing. They’ve shown me nothing but love since I’ve got here, they’re another organization taking a chance on me when they have no reason to, so I’m gonna put everything I’ve got into this.”
Haliburton has done nothing but excel since arriving in Indiana. After averaging 17.5 points per game and 9.6 assists in 26 games post-trade, he took another step forward last season. He was named to his first All-Star team after averaging a career-highs in points (20.7) and assists (10.4). He also notched a career-best in two-point field goal percentage (57.2%) and shot 49.0% from the floor overall.
The Pacers have their floor general for years to come, and he couldn’t be more excited to be there.
