“This is frustrating,” said Haliburton, whose Kings had fallen to lowly Detroit at home the night before. “I’ve never lost like this in my life, so it’s obviously different. But I think that’s the great part about being a lottery pick is (that) now I’m expected to come into a franchise and help change the culture and help change things for the better. It’s just a part of the journey that’s not fun but is just a part of it. “I have film up right now (in his room) that I’m watching from last night. It’s been hard, but it’s kind of the beauty in the struggle, right? It’s a lot of different emotions, and it’s learning how to deal with it and hopefully make sure it doesn’t become something that’s consistent.”

So Buddy asked you what you felt and thought you were bullshitting him? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Obviously I have aspirations to start and be a star and be a superstar, (and) I know that that can come. I’ve just got to go about my days the right way.

Well with that in mind — and I’m not trying to be dramatic, click-baity guy — but does it piss you off that so many teams passed? Are you going to be one of those players where when you play each of these teams there’s a little extra fuel because of the way that went down? Hell yeah, for sure. I think the great players internally have that, you know what I’m saying? And I think it’s just a part of them forever, right? That’s just who they are. They’re not going to be super vocal about it, by any means, but just internally that extra motivation, I think the great ones always find that. So I think it definitely is in my head all the time, and there has definitely been some dumb shit said throughout the process where I’m like, ‘Ok, let’s not forget that you said that.’ …There have been people who said crazy things, like they don’t really see it in me or they don’t see the fit. I’m a basketball player, so I feel like if you put me anywhere I’m going to go out there and play to my abilities. Of course I have that confidence in myself. But at the end of the day, I understand. Everybody’s got to make their own decisions, and live with that. And then my goal is just to make people in 20 years be like, ‘Man, I fucked that up,’ you know?