Kevin Pritchard says Pacers will build team around Tyrese Haliburton

Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard spoke to the local media after yesterday's franchise-altering NBA trade deadline. Not only was two-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis shipped out, the Pacers also dealt Caris LeVert, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and Torrey Craig.

In the monster Sabonis deal that occured on Tuesday between the Pacers and Sacramento Kings, Tyrese Haliburton was the prized return possession. Pritchard relayed how eager he is to build this next chapter of Pacers basketball around the second-year point guard.

"Point guard of our future. And if you have been in this business for a long time, getting a point guard that is young with upside and you feel like you can build around for the next 10 years, those don't come around very often," Pritchard said on Friday.

Pritchard said Haliburton is the team's primary foundational building block, but also referenced what has become an intriguing collection of prospects in Indiana.

"Tyrese is that guy," Pritchard said. "We feel like not only on the court but off the court he brings a persona that we need and it's going to be great building around him and Chris [Duarte] as our young players... and Goga [Bitadze] and [Isaiah] Jackson and Duane [Washington Jr.]. We feel like we've got a lot of young players we can take a look at and grow."

Since the Pacers are giving the keys to Haliburton, rival NBA executives believe that the Pacers will look to trade Malcolm Brogdon this offseason. Brogdon signed a two-year, $45-million extension in late October, so this summer is the earliest that the Pacers could deal the veteran point guard.