Haliburton Says He Called the Suns in 2020 — They Drafted Jalen Smith Instead
Tyrese Haliburton wanted to pair with Booker at pick No. 10 in 2020. Phoenix took a power forward. Six years later, the fantasy gap is brutal.
Top-25 guard trending up before injury — value window if he slips in drafts.
- Haliburton: our #24 overall, #12 at guard
- 41.3 fantasy pts/G in 2024-25 (73 games)
- Suns took Jalen Smith 10th in 2020 instead
- Jalen Smith: our #164, 22.9 FPTS/G in 2025-26
- Booker put up 40 FPTS/G in 2025-26 (64 games)
Tyrese Haliburton just confirmed one of the most painful draft-night what-ifs in recent memory. On the Numbers on the Board podcast, the Indiana Pacers guard said his agent phoned the Phoenix Suns ahead of the 2020 draft, pitching him as the point guard the roster needed and floating the idea of pairing him with Devin Booker. Phoenix's answer, per Haliburton, was that they were drafting a power forward.
They did exactly that, taking Jalen Smith with the 10th overall pick. Six years on, the numbers tell the story. Haliburton sits at #24 in our rankings (#12 among guards) and averaged 41.3 fantasy points per game in 2024-25 across 73 games. Smith checks in at #164 overall (#56 at his position), posting 22.9 FPTS/G in 2025-26. That's roughly an 18-point-per-night gap between what Phoenix got and what it passed on.
The Fit That Made Sense
The backstory stings because it wasn't a stretch. That Suns team had Chris Paul in place — a ready-made mentor for a young lead guard out of Iowa State. Haliburton wanted the destination, the pick was there, and Booker was the co-star waiting on the wing. Booker, for what it's worth, is still humming along at #31 overall (#15 at guard), putting up 40 FPTS/G over 64 games in 2025-26 and trending up 2.1 fantasy points across his last five.
Even the other guard on the board that year, Devin Vassell, has settled into a solid pro at #138 (13.9 points, 25.5 FPTS/G in 2025-26 with San Antonio). But Haliburton is the one who got away, and he's the one who said out loud that he wanted to be a Sun.
The Fantasy Read
For managers, the takeaway is simpler than the franchise soul-searching in Phoenix. Haliburton was a top-25 asset before injury, and his last five games in 2024-25 ran 3.8 fantasy points above his season average — a player still climbing, not fading. If drafters get skittish about health and let him slide past his #24 rank, that's your window.
Buy low on Haliburton where you can. On the flip side, Jalen Smith is a deep-league dart at best — #164 overall, down 5.8 FPTS/G over his last five in 2025-26. Book stays a rock-solid start. The what-if belongs to Phoenix; the roster math belongs to you.
