Tyrese Haliburton has been the best player in the In-Season Tournament by far and former Golden State GM of 11 seasons Bob Myers has revealed that the Pacers star was almost a Warrior.
It was the 2020 NBA Draft and Myers recalled the story of how Haliburton was being considered.
“That workout was a few miles from here, in Vegas with myself,” Myers said on ESPN, where he has become an NBA analyst. “Yeah. Steve Kerr, Joe Lakeham, and he did what he does. He made a ton of shots. And we looked at each other and we said, he might be pretty good, different kind of shot, a little bit of a set shot, funky shot, but he made them all. What bothers me more than anything was his workout was good.
“When we met with him after I should have known then because of who he is as a person and as a leader, because you meet with people, you talk to him that that conversation left a mark because of how smart he is and how confident – it’s not fake. It’s not arrogant. It’s confidence. And so when you talk about players wanting to play with him, that’s real because he’s a great player…”
Haliburton is enjoying a breakout season in 2023-24 averaging 26.9 points per game and 11.5 assists while shooting 44 percent from three and 88 percent from the free throw line.
He absolutely schooled the Celtics when he and the Pacers eliminated them from the In-Season Tournament earlier in the week.
Then backed it up again on Thursday when Indiana eliminated Milwaukee and Haliburton put up 27 points, seven rebounds and 15 assists.
Since being traded from the Kings in 2022, he has gone from strength to strength, but after Myers’ story, one can’t help but wonder how he would have fared in a system like the Warriors’.
