Tyrese Haliburton officially signed his rookie extension worth a maximum of $260 million over five years. He’s now under contract with the Indiana Pacers almost through the end of this decade.

“Hopefully a lot more than that,” Haliburton said after confirming with coach Rick Carlisle that this will have him in a Pacers uniform for the next six years.

“15 [years]!” Kevin Pritchard chipped in excitedly. “I didn’t say that. I was thinking that but I didn’t say that.”

Nearly 10 years ago in 2013, the Pacers were in a similar situation with another blossoming franchise star. Back then, they signed Paul George to a max extension of $90 million over five years, fresh off a Most Improved Player Award and his first All-Star season.

The big difference between the two contracts—besides the fact that these rookie max extensions have nearly tripled in total value over the last decade—is that George’s contract had a player option for the final season while Haliburton’s does not.

Tyrese Haliburton’s contract does NOT contain a player option, per source. Full 5 years. 15% trade kicker, and any All-NBA team selection will bump it up to the 30% max.

— Tony East (@TonyREast) July 6, 2023

That extra season being a guaranteed part of the Tyrese equation is a huge win for the Pacers. Fittingly, that player option for PG is part of what eventually led to the Pacers entering this Haliburton era. The PO is the reason why Pritchard had very little leverage when George grew tired of the front office struggling to field a good team around him (or their inability to make unrealistic trades for Anthony Davis) in the years that followed his leg injury and those Eastern Conference Finals runs.

In the Summer of 2017 when George gave his “gut punch” of a trade request to Kevin Pritchard, most teams saw it as a 1-year rental opportunity. George was going to opt-out no matter where he was because he was due for a much larger payday after that upcoming season and there was widespread talk of him wanting to join the Los Angeles Lakers.

Only problem was that the Pacers wouldn’t take a mediocre offer from the Lakers and instead shocked the basketball world by sending him to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, and zero draft compensation.

And that trade of course eventually led to the Pacers acquiring their new cornerstone franchise player in Tyrese Haliburton. In addition to him, the Pacers can also trace the roots of the following players to the George for Oladipo and Sabonis trade: Buddy Hield, Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and Isaiah Jackson. Jackson’s Pacers heritage is only very loosely connected to George (hat-tip to Tony East of Sports Illustrated for helping me research where the various 2nd-round picks ended up), think of IJax like a second cousin twice removed. That’s a third of the Pacers 15 roster spots still tied to the roots grown out of their former star asking for a trade just over six years ago.

By the end of Haliburton’s new deal, it’ll be almost 20 years since George was drafted in 2010. An impressive management of assets that has already led to five All-Star selections for the Pacers so far (Oladipo 2, Sabonis 2, Haliburton 1). This transaction tree could end up surpassing the length of the Dale Davis to Jermaine O’Neal to Roy Hibbert tree that ended with Rakeem Christmas and went from 1991-2017.

“I love it here, man,” Haliburton said when asked why he’s going to stick around when others haven’t in the past. “I’m a Midwest kid through and through. I’m just really comfortable here. It’s been nothing but love both ways.”

Obviously, things can change fast in the NBA. Divorces between a team and superstar happen seemingly every year. George in 2016 said he wanted to reach the level of love that Reggie Miller did in Indiana. A year later, he wanted out. Right now, Haliburton doesn’t see a split coming in the distant future.

“It’s just not something I see happening moving forward. I’m a loyal person that wants to be apart of building something and changing something,” Haliburton continued. “… This is where I want to be moving forward so I’m really excited we got to ink that down.”

As Haliburton said after he was traded here, “He loves hard.” It’s only right for fans and the organization to respond in the same fashion and love without worrying about being hurt. If one day awhile from now it ends a little messy—as a player sticking around in one place for a even a vast majority of their career becomes more and more rare—that won’t change the memories and moments that are created along the way.

Just like the breakup didn’t permanently tarnish how you felt in the moment when Paul George dunked on Birdman and went toe-to-toe against LeBron James. Just like they didn’t erase the bounty of game winners and clutch moments for Victor Oladipo over a single incredible season. Especially as time continues to dissipate any bitter taste they may have left in the manner of their exits. After all, without those two eras ending, the Pacers never would have entered this new one that’s filled with so much possibility. I, for one, can’t wait to see where it leads.