Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton debuts: ‘Everyone loves playing with him already’
Life in the NBA will be an adjustment for Kings rookie first-round draft pick Tyrese Haliburton, who recently admitted he was surprised by the cost of adulthood after arriving in Sacramento.
“I didn’t know mattresses were that pricey,” he said.
Things have happened fast for Haliburton during this abbreviated NBA offseason. One night he was sitting in his family’s living room in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The next night he was planning his move to Sacramento after the Kings selected him with the No. 12 pick in the NBA Draft.
That was just 14 days ago. Now Haliburton is preparing to suit up for his NBA preseason debut when the Kings visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind for the former Iowa State standout. He comes to the NBA in unprecedented times with no summer league and a shortened training camp due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he’s already making new friends and a positive impression in training camp.
“(Haliburton) has been impressive the first two days,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “I think one of the things that we heard about him is that everyone on the team loves playing with him already, and it’s only been two days worth of scrimmages, so he’s got one of those personalities and styles of game that attract people to want to play with him. Like most young players, he’s got a lot of work to do and he knows that, but he’s constantly asking questions and wants to put in that work and wants to get better.”
Haliburton averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists and 5.9 rebounds in his sophomore season at Iowa State, shooting 59.2% from the field and 41.9% from 3-point range. He posted an impressive 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio over two seasons with the Cyclones. The Kings believe he can be a dynamic playmaker as a primary or secondary ball handler.
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound combo guard joins a backcourt that features De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Cory Joseph. Hield seems like the likely choice to start next to Fox following the departure of Bogdan Bogdanovic, but Walton said he would need time in training camp to make that assessment.
Haliburton was asked about the possibility of starting as a rookie.
“I’m just coming in ready to learn, being eager to learn, just to learn as much as I can and control what I can,” Haliburton said. “Would it be awesome to start right away in the NBA? Of course it would, but I don’t get to make that decision and whatever I can do to help our team win is what I’ll do.”
Walton said Haliburton spent a lot of time playing alongside Joseph during scrimmages over the first two days of group workouts.
“I’ve been very pleased, impressed with his knowledge, how he sees the game, what he’s looking to do,” Walton said. “We’re encouraging him to be as aggressive as possible. It’s nice right now with some of the scrimmages, we’re able to play him and Cory together and Cory is a great vet, mentoring, showing, talking and helping lead teams.”
Kings forward Harrison Barnes said Haliburton has been on his radar for quite some time. Barnes was raised in Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State is.
“I’ve known about Tyrese for a while,” Barnes said. “I usually try to go back to the (Iowa State University) practice facility and get shots up or just see people back in Ames. So when he fell to us (in the draft), it was great just because I know who the kid he is. I know how hard he works. I know what this means to him. I know he’ll have an opportunity to come in here and really have an impact. Not a lot of rookies get that opportunity, so I’m definitely happy for him. I know he won’t take it for granted. He’ll work as hard as anybody in this gym and he’ll be great.”
Haliburton can’t wait. He won’t have to wait long.
“There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of things to look forward to, on the court but off the court as well,” Haliburton said. “My life is changing pretty fast, but that’s kind of what I signed up for. It’s something I dreamed about my whole life.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
