[Lowe] Sabonis is really good, & Fox is thriving as undisputed lead ball handler. The Kings are solid. But Haliburton is four years younger than Sabonis, much further from unrestricted free agency, with a game that’s easier to fit onto an elite team. He might be the flat-out better player already.

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Some revisiting of the Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis trade has framed it as a win-win. Eh. The shrieking "same old Kings" criticism at the time of the trade was overblown, but this win-win revisionism is an overcorrection.

Sabonis is really good, and De'Aaron Fox is thriving as undisputed lead ball handler. The Kings are solid - as they should be considering their win-now temperament. But Haliburton is four years younger than Sabonis, much further from unrestricted free agency, with a game that's easier to fit onto an elite team. He might be the flat-out better player already.

The Kings getting the short-term boost they sought doesn't change the underlying dynamics behind the trade. Even if both teams "won," there are degrees of "winning.”