Tyrese Haliburton was one of the most promoted point guards in the 2020 draft class.
After two spectacular years in Iowa, Tyreese Halliburton announced he will be in the NBA draft, with several teams showing interest in him.
Bob Myers revealed that the Golden State Warriors were impressed with Halliburton’s pre-draft training, and that they loved the conversation they had with him.
He was eventually drafted in 2020 as the Sacramento Kings’ 12th pick, but after his rookie season the team traded him for the Indiana Pacers.
His stint in Indiana was a huge success as he was a pivotal part of his journey to the NBA Finals.
But Bill Simmons revealed that the two-time All-Star could end with the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics had their 14th pick in the draft and were about to trade up because they were impressed by Halliburton.
However, Simmons revealed that former President Danny Einge called and misunderstood the message that Halliburton was not available with Pick No. 14.
“They chose 14. What they wanted to trade up with Halliburton, Boston and Dallas was the two teams they were trying to trade up with him,” Simmons said of the teams they were interested in with Pacers Guard.
He added: “At one point, Danny (Ainge) was on the phone with someone and misunderstood what they said. The guy said he was 14 and he wasn’t there, but Danny said he was 14 and he was there.
“So they didn’t trade up, because he’d be there at 14 years old… and then he was taken.”
“He misunderstood the information so they didn’t trade up. And did the Boston Celtics stay on the 14th pick? Aaron Nesmith. Phoenix’s pick was pretty available (at).”
In 2020, the Boston Celtics already had a stacked roster led by Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown.
They had consistently made deep playoff runs and seemed capable of winning the championship in the coming years.
Adding a point guard like Halliburton would have completely changed the dynamics of the Celtics. Because he was the kind of player he hadn’t had in 2020.
Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart were guard options for the team, but they didn’t prove to be very useful for the Celtics when it comes to playing as point guards.
Halliburton took the responsible ball from the two stars and set up a Celtics offense.
His ability to control during the clutch period was something everyone could see during these playoffs.
The Pacers were 20-1, with Halliburton scoring over 20 points and assisting over 10, showing just how shocking he is.
Currently, there is a reservation in his defensive capabilities, but the Celtics would certainly have instilled him in good habits if they drafted him.