Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton revealed on the "Numbers On the Board" podcast that he and his agent called the Phoenix Suns about drafting him in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft.
The Suns instead used the 10th overall pick in the first round to take Jalen Smith out of Maryland.
The Sacramento Kings later chose Haliburton 12th overall.
"Stix is my boy, I played with Stix, that's my dawg," Haliburton said about Smith, whose nickname is Stix. "We were calling Phoenix. 'Ya'll need a PG. Let me come play with Book.' They were like, 'We're going with a power forward.' I was like, 'I don't know who they're talking about, but they're not drafting me.'"
The Suns had a point guard at the time in Ricky Rubio, but ended up trading him to the Oklahoma City Thunder and acquiring Chris Paul. The Suns reached the 2021 Finals and won a franchise-record 64 games in 2021-22 with Paul, but they haven't had a true point guard since trading Paul for Bradley Beal after the 2022-23 season.
Booker, a natural shooting guard, has been the team's main facilitator since. So, Haliburton is a topic when it comes to Phoenix because the thought is that he could've played behind Rubio or Paul and then emerged as the starter.
Rubio played one season in Phoenix, Monty Williams' first year as head coach.
Williams had coached Paul in New Orleans. James Jones was Phoenix's general manager.
Jones addressed the draft decision at the time, saying he liked the idea of Smith sharing the court with Deandre Ayton to help match the size of the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.
“I think when you look at his ball skills and his comfort level, being on the perimeter, he allows us to play with two dynamic bigs in space,” Jones said back then about Smith. “So I don’t think it will be a problem. I’m looking forward to seeing those two guys anchoring the floor together, even if it’s for stints.”
The Lakers had just won the 2019-20 NBA championship with bigs Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard.
The Nuggets reached the 2020 Western Conference finals with now three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic at center and Jerami Grant at power forward,
#Suns GM James Jones wants to see "two dynamic bigs in space" as he sees matchups with Lakers and Nuggets' size, skill and versatility.
He'll see it tonight.
Monty Williams starting Deandre Ayton and rookie Jalen Smith in 2nd preseason game at Utah. Cam Johnson out (calf). pic.twitter.com/eG4D2psFFh
“We talk about teams like the Lakers, those are teams that have great size, skill versatility,” Jones said back in 2020. “Talk about teams like Denver, they have great size, skill and versatility.”
The 2020 draft was during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, looking back at the timeline, the draft was on Nov. 18, 2020.
The Suns traded for Paul on Nov. 20.
This move led to an incredible two-year run for Phoenix, with Booker and Paul, but Smith hardly played as a rookie.
Before the 2022 trade deadline, the Suns sent Smith and a 2022 second-round draft pick to the Pacers for Torrey Craig.
Smith averaged a career-high 13.4 points and 7.6 rebounds in 22 games that season with the Pacers. He's now with the Chicago Bulls and is entering the final year of a three-year, $27 million deal.
Smith averaged 10.2 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Bulls last season.
Haliburton had a solid start to his career, making the NBA All-Rookie first team, but Sacramento traded him, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Pacers for Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, Domantas Sabonis and a 2023 second-round pick before the 2022 trade deadline.
Haliburton has since become one of the game's best point guards. A two-time All-Star and All-NBA selection, Haliburton led the Pacers to the 2025 Finals.
Haliburton said he worked out with the Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Bulls going into the 2020 draft. He also had interviews with the New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets and Kings, who were his last interview the night before the draft.
"I'm like, 'Why am I interviewing with Sacramento? They have the 12th pick,'" Haliburton recalls. "(His agent) said, 'They love you. They might trade up to get you.' I'm like, 'Whatever dawg.' So I get on this call. Most of the calls are so professional. It was like a call with the homies. They were like, 'We love you. You're not going to be available at our pick, but we just wanted to talk to you.' I'm like, 'What am I doing here?'"
Haliburton saw 11 teams pass on him before the Kings chosen him 12th overall out of Iowa State.
- 1. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves).
- 2. James Wiseman (Golden State Warriors).
- 3. LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets).
- 4. Patrick Williams (Chicago Bulls).
- 5. Isaac Okoro (Cleveland Cavaliers).
- 6. Onyeka Okongwu (Atlanta Hawks).
- 7. Killian Hayes (Detroit Pistons).
- 8. Obi Toppin (New York Knicks).
- 9. Deni Avdija (Washington Wizards).
- 10. Jalen Smith (Phoenix Suns).
- 11. Devin Vassell (San Antonio Spurs).
- 12. Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento Kings).
Haliburton was the third point guard taken behind Ball and Hayes, who ironically finished his sixth NBA season with the Kings, his third NBA team.
Hayes is now a backup point guard in the NBA, while Haliburton is one of the NBA's best players.
When one of the podcasters said Hayes' tape was "pretty good," Haliburton said, "Next" in a dismissive fashion.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Haliburton gives Suns fans sad insight to Phoenix's 2020 draft decision
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