Tyrese Haliburton, the Kings 1st round pick, was a hidden gem.
By: Cameron Forcier
Tags: Basketball, Draft, NBA

To many casual fans of the NBA who don’t follow college basketball very closely, Iowa State Cyclones point guard Tyrese Haliburton may not have been a big name on their radar heading into this years draft. Drafted 12th by the Sacramento Kings, he has the tools to become a top 3 player in his class.

The 2020 NBA draft was not one to look forward to as a GM in need of an instant-impact player. The top 3 prospects headed into the draft, Lamelo Ball, James Wiseman, and Anthony Edwards, all had major question marks that were potential red flags. Anthony Edwards, from the University of Georgia, ended up being taken number 1 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. While his elite athleticism, above average defensive IQ, and ability to score seemingly at will are all tantalizing, his drive was questionable. While his trainer insists the opposite, Edwards had an interview a few days before the draft where he says he’d choose to play football if given the opportunity. Additionally, almost everything that scouts love about Edwards they said about Andrew Wiggins, the 1st overall selection in 2014. Wiggins, while having all of the physical tools to be elite, is wisely seen as someone who has yet to live up to his expectations. I mean, he has one of the best High School highlight tapes in recent history.

James Wiseman, picked 2nd by the Golden State Warriors, is a center from the University of Memphis. At Memphis, Wiseman was in the center of a massive scandal involving receiving a payment of $11,500 dollars from current Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway. Being the definitive number 1 recruit coming out of High School, he only played 3 games in college, skipping his season after serving a 12-game suspension. In those 3 games, however, he looked worthy of being the top pick, averaging nearly 20 points and over 10 rebounds. Just like Edwards, his physical tools are impressive, standing at 7’1 with a standing reach of 9 feet 6 inches. He moves like a guard, and can be an elite rim protector, but just like Edwards, his drive is questionable. In the modern NBA, if you’re a big man who can’t shoot, your value diminishes greatly. As a back-to-basket center, it’ll be interesting to see where he can fit, and whether he can add a jump shot.

And then there’s Lamelo Ball, who was taken 3rd by the Charlotte Hornets. Lamelo, brother of UCLA Bruins star, former 2nd overall pick, and current New Orleans Pelican Lonzo, has been in the media limelight for years. His father, a very passionate Lavar, is notorious for being… for lack of a better term, obnoxious. Here’s Lonzo with a quick summary.

Lamelo is the biggest question mark of the three. Standing at 6’8, he has the size and athleticism to succeed. His playmaking is also a strong suit, but that’s about where it ends. Skipping college to play in Lithuania with his brother LiAngelo (because Lavar made them after LiAngelo got caught stealing in China….. yeah, this family is full of drama), he later landed in the NBL, Australia’s professional league. Not pulling any punches, he was a dismal shooter, an even worse defender, and has questionable professionalism. He’s a project at 3.

And then, outside of the top 3, there were good prospects like Frenchman Killian Hayes, taken 7th, Obi Toppin, taken 8th, and Israeli Deni Avdija, taken 9th. But none of those drew my attention quite like Haliburton. A 3-star recruiting out of OshKosh, WI, his freshman year at Iowa State was nothing too impressive, averaging just shy of 7 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds per game. In the offseason, he represented the US in the FIBA U19 World Cup, winning gold. His sophomore season, this past year, had his stats see a meteoric rise. He averaged over 15 points, 6.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game on a 59/42/82 split. He blossomed into a swiss army knife of a player, able to control the game with the ball in his hands or sit back and stay effective off-ball.

Two big questions with him, however, are his size and shooting form. Standing at 6’5, 175 pounds, he’s underweight by NBA standards, and definitely on the weaker side of the spectrum in this draft. Due to coronavirus concerns, the NBA Draft Combine was held virtually, so important strength tests like bench press were not officially recorded for him. If he can put on muscle like most players do when they enter the league, he’ll be even more effective at absorbing contact and finishing at the rim, and it opens up the possibility of him guarding multiple positions on the court. Joining a back court of De’Aaron Fox (6’3 185) and Buddy Hield (6’4 225), he’ll need to bulk up to prevent teams from switching to abuse a mismatch if all three are on the court at the same time.

Despite shooting 42% from 3-point range in college, his shooting form is very questionable. Lonzo Ball, mentioned above, shot 41% in college but is shooting a pedestrian 34% in the NBA. Both of them have questionable shooting forms that were obvious wouldn’t translate well to the NBA. Lonzo’s shot, in which he brings the ball across his body, was inconsistent do to a lot of moving parts. Haliburton’s, while ugly, is repeatable, which is promising. A good indicator of whether someone’s shooting prowess will translate well to the next level is their free throw %. While Lonzo shot an abysmal 67% at UCLA, and continues to struggle in the NBA, shooting a horrendous 49%. Haliburton hit 82% of his free throws while playing for the Cyclones, which means that he at least has the mechanics that can be built upon with a good shooting coach.

Something that I’m personally concerned about with Haliburton is his fit on the Kings. Like I mentioned, he joins an already young, promising, and highly-paid backcourt of De’Aaron Fox (who just signed a 5yr/$163mil contract) and Buddy Hield (who signed a 4yr/$94mil contract in 2018). Unless one them gets traded (I would assume Hield gets moved at some point during this season), he’s going to be fighting for minutes in an offense that doesn’t necessarily excite me. In the 2018–2019 season, the Kings had the 5th highest-paced offense in the league, and finished 39–43. After firing coach Dave Joeger for former Warriors and Lakers coach Luke Walton, their pace fell to 20th in the league, and finished with a worse record. According to Synergy, a basketball statistics engine that breaks down players games, Haliburton averaged 1.766 points per possession, factoring in assists, in transition. That’s better than 98% of every other college player last season.

So, yeah. In a draft filled with uncertainty at the top, Tyrese Haliburton is a name to watch. I had him going top 10, but as a fan of the Kings, I’m certainly not complaining that he fell to 12. If I had to compare him to a player in today’s NBA, I would go with a Lonzo Ball who can shoot, or a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. If he can put on weight and get stronger, I could see him becoming a perennial fringe All-Star candidate in a crowded Western Conference.