Tyrese Haliburton's Draft Scouting Report: Pro Comparison, Updated Kings Roster

Tyrese Haliburton has officially made it to the NBA. 

After a surprising slide, the Sacramento Kings took the Iowa State point guard with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft on Wednesday.

Bleacher Report Draft Expert Jonathan Wasserman's Scouting Report

Player: Tyrese Haliburton

Position: PG/SG

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 175

Pro Comparison: Lonzo Ball

Scouting Report: Special passing IQ elevates Tyrese Haliburton the way it does for Lonzo Ball. And like Lonzo, Haliburton can play on and off the ball with his 6'5" size and spot-up shooting. He won't need explosion or advanced scoring ability to impact games. His impact will be felt rather than seen in box scores.

The former Cyclone spent two years in Ames, Iowa, where he established himself as a playmaking threat with a scoring streak. In his final year with ISU, Haliburton averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field. That's nearly a 10-point improvement in scoring from his freshman season. 

The Wisconsin native earned Second-Team All-Big 12 honors for his play and decided it was time to go pro. 

Kings Active Roster and Average Salary (Expiration Year)

Buddy Hield, SG: $23.5M (2024)

Harrison Barnes, SF: $21.3M (2023)

Cory Joseph, PG: $12.4M (2022)

Marvin Bagley III, PF: $7.9M (2022)

Nemanja Bjelica, PF: $6.8M (2021)

Jabari Parker, PF: $6.5M (2021)

De'Aaron Fox, PG: $5.5M (2021)

Richaun Holmes, PF: $4.9M (2021)

Tyrese Haliburton, PG: Rookie scale contract (2024)

Free Agents

Bogdan Bogdanovic, SF: RFA

Alex Len, C: UFA

Corey Brewer, SG: UFA

Harry Giles, PF: UFA

Kent Bazemore, SG: UFA

Yogi Ferrell, PG: UFA

Wasserman was relatively high on Haliburton, putting him at No. 10 on his late-October big board. 

Here's how Wasserman scouted the guard:

"It sounds as if Tyrese Haliburton could go as high as No. 4 or anywhere in that vicinity, including to a team targeting him in a trade. Passing translates, and everyone is buying Haliburton's ability to continue to set up teammates and make good decisions with the ball. The analytics love his game and statistical profile as well, specifically his 59.2 two-point percentage, 41.9 three-point percentage and 3.8 steal percentage, per Sports Reference.

"He's No. 10 for me because of concerns about his scoring potential since he doesn't have blow-by speed or a pull-up game. But I'm banking on Haliburton's playmaking, spot-up shooting and defensive IQ to improve a team's lineup."

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic agreed, naming Haliburton his No. 9 prospect in 2020.

A 3-star recruit, according to 247Sports, Haliburton went from being ranked 172nd in the country at the time he committed to Iowa State to one of the best basketball players in the country. 

Now he'll look to prove he's not done developing yet as he tries to carve out a pro career in the NBA. He will join De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield in what could be an exciting young backcourt going forward.