Tyrese Haliburton is the breakout performer of the NBA in-season tournament. His Pacers could lose to the Lakers in Saturday’s tournament final, but basketball fans are learning that he’s one of the league’s best shooters who can score in bunches and is very fun to watch.
Haliburton, 23, hopes some of the people watching are fellow NBA players who see a burgeoning star around whom a championship team can be built, much like what’s happened with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
During ESPN’s coverage of the Pacers-Bucks semifinal, insider Adrian Wojnarowski explained that Indiana executive Kevin Pritchard has been trying to get frontcourt help like the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.
“Haliburton said to me, ‘I’m going to get you shots, I’m going to make life easy for you, and we are going to win,’” Wojnarowski said. “And that is really Haliburton’s mission right now, to use this tournament, to use this season to start making the case to star players around the league, ‘Come play with me in Indiana.’”
"We are witnessing a superstar in the making." - Reggie Miller on Tyrese Haliburton pic.twitter.com/FWW234Au8p
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 8, 2023
Former Warriors general manager Bob Myers added that other players will want to team up with Haliburton because of his personality, character, and leadership qualities. Other stars could push for a deal or look Indiana’s way in free agency after seeing Haliburton emerge. Charles Barkley joked after the Pacers’ win that James Harden would demand to be traded to join a team on the rise.
As currently constructed, Indiana isn’t there yet. Despite their in-season tournament success, the Pacers rank sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 12–8 record.
There are other good players on the roster including Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. Neither of them is pushing to be traded elsewhere anymore because they can see what’s developing. Haliburton is hoping others do, too.
