The Kings almost moved Buddy Hield last summer
Is Buddy Hield going to end the season with the Sacramento Kings? Almost certainly not, says an executive who recently spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about Hield’s future:
“Buddy’s going to be gone,” one NBA executive told HoopsHype bluntly. “They already traded him and had a done deal.”
Another executive noted Hield’s descending contract could make it more likely for him to be traded.
After the team seemingly had a deal to send Hield to the Lakers for Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell this summer, it’s not a surprising report.
It seems like the Kings will look to get Hield’s value up this season and see if a shooting-needy contender comes calling with an enticing package. Scotto also mentioned that the fact that Hield’s contract descends in value from $23.09 million this season to $21.21 million during the 2022-23 season then $19.32 million for the 2023-24 season could be make him an attractive piece.
Hield has gotten off to a decent start for the Kings coming off of the bench. Hield played really well in the team’s first two games, scoring 17 and then 24 points, before having a dud of a game against the Golden State Warriors scoring just six points on 2 of 11 shooting.
So far this season Hield is making 37.5% of his three-point attempts and is taking 78% of his total shot attempts from beyond the arc.
Hield recently joined the Kings’ history books, passing Peja Stojakovic to become the franchise’s all-time leader in three-point makes.
The Kings’ roster would start to make a lot more sense on paper and on the court if they were able to move Hield for some type of forward.
In the report, Scotto also mentioned that it is widely believed that Marvin Bagley III’s time with the team is nearing an end, which is expected. In other words, don’t expect this to be the team the Kings end the season with.