Wizards 'Were About To Pick Me' Over Forward Deni Avdija Says Pacers Guard, Tyrese Haliburton

Was Tyrese Haliburton almost a member of the Washington Wizards?

With the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected Israeli League forward Deni Avdija. 

But it turns out that before the Wizards committed to Avdija, they had thoughts of giving that roster spot to another player. 

"Washington was a real possibility," Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said recently on The Woj Pod. "I actually was told at one point they were about to pick me...I don't know if I've ever even said that publicly, but they definitely were the team I thought."

Haliburton explained that on the night prior to the draft the Sacramento Kings called him and told him they were making attempts to move up and select him themselves. 

This gave the soon-to-be NBA guard the confidence he wouldn't last past pick 12, but he also had a feeling he'd be taken before then as well. 

As the picks came off the board, Haliburton says he knew he wouldn't be taken by the Chicago Bulls who selected Florida State forward Patrick Williams, but thought he might go to the Detroit Pistons at pick seven. 

Detroit went with guard Killian Hayes, out of Germany, instead. 

"I never interviewed with them (or) nothing," Haliburton said of the Wizards recalling the events of that day. "Someone was like, 'Yo, you're about to go to Washington.' I was like, 'What? Ok, fine.' And then when they didn't pick me...I went to (Sacramento) and I was really excited about it."

Host of the show, ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski spoke earlier in the interview about an unnamed team in the back end of the top 10 selections of that year's draft calling him constantly about which teams may or may not select Haliburton prior to their selection. 

The team in question called so much, in fact, that Wojciechowski thought they'd be taking Haliburton if he were still on the board. 

Obviously, they did not. 

Was that team the Wizards? 

We don't know for sure, but it certainly seems possible.

And between Woj's report, Haliburton's experience, and the Kings' own words to him that they were trying to move up for him, it's fully possible Washington was trying to pull off a trade that never materialized for one reason or another. 

Instead, the Wizards took Avdija, and Haliburton went to Sacramento only to be traded to Indiana during the 2021-22 NBA Season. 

And now we know a little bit more about the behind-the-scenes drama that can take place when NBA franchises decide the fates of young players looking to make a splash at the next level.

Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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