Buddy Hield was nearly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on draft day. At the last second, Los Angeles shifted and instead traded for Russell Westbrook. But in those hours before the trade fell apart, the sports media as a whole took notice of Buddy Hield in a new light. Buddy was no longer a volume scorer on the lowly Kings, but was now a soon-to-be-Lakers, and was suddenly being discussed in glowing reviews about how his shooting volume was elite and his contract wasn’t actually that bad.
And all though the trade fell through, it’s worth asking how that near-deal may have helped Buddy’s trade value.
Consider that back at the trade deadline the reports indicated there was absolutely no market for Hield. Monte McNair decided to hold onto Buddy against the hopes and expectations of many Kings fans, rather than unload Hield for little return.
That resulted in a deal that would have brought the Kings Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma. Reports indicated the 22nd overall pick might have also been involved in the deal. To go from no offers at all to getting two rotation-quality players and possibly a first round pick is quite the testament to the value of McNair’s patience. Of course, not everyone loved that return package and I’m sure there will be some fans who take issue with me crediting McNair for a trade that didn’t actually go through, but it did signify a step up in the reported value on the market for Buddy Hield.
And it seems that nearly-a-Laker glow could still be hanging around Buddy’s reputation. In Sports Illustrated’s annual Top 100 rankings, SI has Buddy ranked as the 79th best player in the NBA, 5 spots higher than he was last season. From SI:
Hield sports one elite skill, something he’s used to punish defenses time and again in his first five NBA seasons. The Oklahoma product has canned 1,155 threes through five years, a mark passed by only Steph Curry, James Harden and Damian Lillard. Hield has never shot worse than 39.1% from three in a season. As Sacramento looks to snap a 15-year playoff drought in 2021-22, Hield’s marksmanship could swing its season. — MS
For a player that many Kings fans are completely out on, this is a glowing review of Hield’s ability.
How much longer Hield remains a King is anybody’s guess, but it certainly feels like there’s been a small shift in the narrative of Buddy Hield, at least outside of Sacramento. And for trade purposes, the perception outside of Sacramento is what matters most.
If he would lose some of his individualism and arrogance and commit himself to trying to learn to stay in front of whoever he is guarding (Davion could help him here), he would be a valuable asset, even in Sacramento. Otherwise he is “Highway 24.”
What makes people think that Davion Mitchell can teach Hield that several (assistant) coaches, and players like Aron Afflalo, Matt Barnes, Garrett Temple, Vince Carter, George Hill, Corey Brewer, Iman Shumpert and Trevor Ariza couldn’t?
They all failed to teach him.
Davion hasn’t failed to teach him yet.
I dunno….I got nothin
I think it’s a question of Buddy’s attitude. He will never be a great defender, but he could probably be adequate if he would drop the arrogance and try to learn. Perhaps you are right that I overestimate Davion’s potential influence, but I am hopeful that there could be a sea change in the attitude toward playing defense on the team, one that might influence Buddy.
To answer the question, I think the trade shows how low his value is. Why? The Lakers seemed really desperate and willing to overpay for a shooter and were willing to give up two younger players, who have playoff experience and a 1st rounder for a great shooter yes, but one with no playoff experience coming off having a big role in the worst defensive team in NBA history. How desperate do the Lakers gotta be to go after Buddy when they won their title on defense defense defense? And then they chose Westbrook, who’s contract is seen as a negative around the league and is a non shooter, over him. Just my opinion but that’s how I see it.
Buddy’s value will be higher by the deadline. Another ball handler to take the ball out of his hands can only help him.
If he’s over 42% from 3 again like he was in his best season just shooting and dribbling less, then the package would be even better than the 2 sixth men and a 1st from the Lakers.
The wild card is Terrence Davis who can step right in and fill that shooter/scorer role but one big difference is he’s fine coming off the bench.
Buddy should be gone by the deadline even if the Kings shock the world and are playing well.
I am high on Davis, too. I am not sold on the early talk of the three-guard starting unit. Kings might go with Haliburton and Fox to start and then Mitchell and Davis with a feisty second unit. Crunch time minutes TBD. This is assuming Heild is gone.
Mitchell + Davis is pretty feisty. There are a lot of mix and match with this foursome.
The LAL deal increased his value-“hey ! the Lakers want him !”
With 3 guards who pass the ball, his percentage of open shots will increase and his best skill will be on display. His value will increase, not only as trade value but as value to the Kings.
If Davis explodes ( good explode) then there is more room to move him.
I’d consider the glowing review to simply be realistic. Hield has been a consistent target of Kings’ fans rage since the moment he inked his current deal. Reasonable people can disagree about whether it was an overpay, but with two years left, certainly at this point, it is not.
I’ve commented before about the kind of company Hield is in as it relates to accuracy and volume. The other three guys are locks for the Hall of Fame. Hield would need to make a lot of improvements to his skills in order to ever actually be in a conversation like that, but being able to run with dogs that big on a skill as important as 3PM on huge volume? That’s a special player, and there isn’t a team in the league that couldn’t benefit from having that in the mix.
I think that the Lakers deal probably boosted his profile, but regardless of the (apparent) lack of interest at the deadline, I doubt that there are many basketball people who don’t see Hield as an important cog on a contender.
Off topic, but in his newsletter yesterday, Ziller posted a video of Fox highlights from 2018-2019, and I couldn’t help but notice how offensively skilled WCS looked across the highlights. Runs like a deer on breaks, good touch on his shots, very nice passing ability, you name it. I’m not upset at the Kings for letting him walk, but he really was damned good in a lot of ways.
All these glowing reviews of former and current Kings players….and yet?
And yet, no one is trying to give them away for less than value.
Do you have any other questions?
What did WCS value ultimately end up being?
Basically nothing…..
What does WCS have to do with anything about this team?
Basically nothing….
I guess that’s why sims started that paragraph with “Off topic”.
Buddy is still my favorite King, as I love big time shooters.
Besides elite volume long range shooting, I think Buddy’s value is his contract. If good to very good players are needing to be moved, having Buddy’s contract as ballast in a trade is going to be valuable to McNair.
If he isn’t used when Ben Simmons is traded by the Sixers (my hope is McNair can insert him into a three way), I would rather start the season with Buddy, even with the uneven roster, and see what happens before the trade deadline league wise with what teams have injuries, whose off-season moves didnt work out, coaches fired, and see if he can bring something to even out the roster for our optimistic but likely futile run to the play-in.
I like Buddy as a heat-check sixth man who doesn’t try to force the issue when he gets the ball.
Buddy don’t like that idea
Buy low, sell high!
“I see you Kardashians… hi there”
It’s Kardasimms time
One of the best 3 point shooters in the league is not of value to the Sacramento Kings? “SACRAMENTO” Kings?! Who are you people? Not Kings fans. Just trolls looking to feed off us.
Buddy having an off year and he’s still up there amongst the best in the league. Buddy was key in many many ‘come from behind’ wins.
Again, anytime the Kings have any valued players on the team, these ‘fans’ can do nothing but promote giving them away.
And then you have these Kings fans who ignore the defensive side of the ball, overvalue most Kings players but have no explanation for why the team is a perenial lottery team.
It has been what the team has sold for way too long. All the media and events hyping Buddy and Bagley as the backbone of this team.
And not every offensive star is a defensive champ too. If we were anyone other than Sacramento, getting those level of players would not be such a chore. Sac has an elite shooting talent! Be thankful at least for that. Credit McNair with bringing in defensive talent to compliment what we are lucky to have. Again, we’re Sacramento. If you want a team that attracts that kind of talent, you’re rooting in the wrong city, pal.
I think the trade might’ve shifted media/fan perspective somewhat. His actual trade value among front offices was always going to rise as the amount of time left on his contract diminished. Many Kings fans never seemed to understand that a player’s contract could be an overpay in year 1 of the deal and a major asset in year 3, even without the player improving. Just by staying healthy and having a clear role, the end of Buddy’s deal becomes an asset. Contenders will always value those kinds of guys on 1-2 year deals even at high per-year rates, since they need the talent and will go into the luxury tax to get it, but can’t risk the long-term injury potential of a 4 year contract if they’re built around a superstar.
Is that you, Kayte?
I don’t think Buddy is going to be traded, at least in the near future, his shooting is too valuable. I’m more concerned about Fox being accepting of a rookie that’s already a better defender, has shown he can score and can take Fox’s job. I’m anxious to see how Walton will manage that, especially during crunch time because due to certain match-ups Walton won’t always be able to play 3 guards.
No. No, he really can’t.
Mitchell is a very skilled defender. He can disrupt the point of attack and his pressure will lead to errant passes, steals and buckets. But he lacks elite skill in drive and kick- a huge part of NBA success and for the most part, cannot get his own shot. Fox is close to an elite scorer and Mitchell will never get there. Fox is complemented, not concerned. Different and complimentary skills. The 3 guard lineup may be more valuable on defense. If, for example, the Kings press then the mis-match of a small Kings guard on a bigger player becomes less important.
Buddy alone is worth more than the Buddy / Bagley combination that is continually discussed.
Agree to disagree. Getting a former #2 pick as a flier for a single season with no financial commitment past this year has some value.
I would tend to agree as well. The problem is that for almost an entire year the idea of Buddy/Bagley combination has been talked about. Nothing comes of it. Buddy alone to the L*akers almost gets done.
I don’t think anybody sees value in Bagley at this point. Throw him for nothing and that might work.
Kings are forced to carry Bagley this year so he can try out for his job next year. No other team is willing to pay for that privelege.
And disagree you should. Based on the handle, you can take literally any comment they make about Marvin Bagley with a mountain of salt.
Why would any NBA team pay Bagley this year?
If he is the greatest player ever they do not have any rights next year.
If he continues be Bagley they paid a bunch of money for Bagley.
The NBA teams that might be interested in Bagley are not stupid. The Kings are stuck paying him for his try out. If he sucks then oh well. If he does something near his potential then get him as a free agent. The Kings are paying Bagley, not any other intelligent NBA team.
Bagley actual value in a trade is an expiring salary.
Hmm, this is wrong. He will only be a free agent if the Kings refuse his qualifying offer.
If he plays well then surely the Kings will give him his qualifying offer.
And nobody tampers in the NBA….
So Bagley is gladly going to accept an offer from the Kings?
As Maximus said. this is wrong and chasm much???
I understand he is a restricted free agent.
All the teams play by the rules right?
Bagley and his agent won’t work something out that gets him off of the Kings?
The Kings only get anything in return for Bagley if they can trade him. At the end of the season he is gone.
What is wrong with the twolves? They just fired Rosas and shams is talking about the new owners Lore and Arod liking Elton Brand as a candidate for the position.
Simmons won’t want to play for Brand, right?
Wait, so the incoming owners in ARod and Lore are the ones who made the decision to fire Rosas? They don’t even own the team yet. That’s like starting the remodel of a home before escrow closes.
This is an odd decision (& the interest in Brand is weird to me), but letting the outgoing owner make the decision to fire Rosas would’ve been even odder to me.
Lot of rumors about Lore and the team doing an internal investigation about Rosa’s behavior. Canis hoopus is having a field day. They linked to Twitter for possible reasons why.
Rumor mill says it was an affair between Rosas and his executive assistant along with him being really hard to work with.
At this point, I think I just kind of want the season to start for all the teams.
I’ve been chatting over there a little bit. This decision is very odd, and very silly. Or at least based on what we know so far.
Definitely, because what happens with finch when Arod and Lore hire their guy for gm? Then you also wonder how fast they’re going to make that search.
Luke Walton might be in trouble if that happens.. One would assume the next GM would like to hire his own coach. If Finch suddenly gets dismissed especially if the Wolves have another bad record and don’t make the playoffs this upcoming season he might get the boot as well.
Remember, there were rumors Finch was McNair’s “guy” to replace Walton last season before the Wolves scooped him up.
If the twolves misfortune helps spur Walton’s departure, I’d be all for that.
That’s a long wait- new GM, get used to job, fire coach. Long time to wait. That might work though if Finch replaces the interim Alvin Gentry.
I assume they would like to see how this season goes with Finch.. Probably he’s in the same boat with Walton.
As i said on the previous thread, I expect Walton to be fired either during the All star break of after the season ends.
If Finch gets the boot, I expect him to be fired after the season as well.. Perfect timing for Mcnair to finally get his guy although I would prefer a thorough coaching search and see who else is available before commiting to Finch.
Not thrilled about a GM getting his guy without a proper coach’s search. Sounds very Vlade-esque.
The result may be better but that’s easy with Walton as the bar.
According to The Athletic, it was the creation of a toxic office environment & the affair w/the head of PR that led to his firing (w/the latter being the reason he was fired now).
Yeah don’t they take control in 2023?
on the surface, seems odd. Gupta, who interviewed for the Kings GM job but dropped out is now interim. Hard to believe new owners have that much swag or that the old owners would act like this.
As below there may be more behind the scenes stuff.
This all might blow up any Simmonds deal: new guy comes in, trades for BS within a day?
ESPN had a list of trade partners: Kings amongst them- Buddy + Bagley + Hali.
Seriously: Hard pass.
Meanwhile Jason Anderson is reporting on another potential Kings/TWolves connection that may be affected:
“Saagar Sarin, who spent the past two seasons in Minnesota as the team’s personnel scouting coordinator, could be on the verge of accepting a position with the Kings, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV in Minneapolis. Wolfson noted that Sachin Gupta, Minnesota’s new president of basketball operations, might try to retain Sarin following Wednesday’s front office shakeup.”
Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article254457358.html#storylink=cpy
https://images.app.goo.gl/7aRWz7FZfWfvJbJw5
If his value is high, why can’t we trade Hield, Bagley, and a first rounder for Simmons? Is there really a better offer out there?
I don’t know, but if there’s not Morey should just hold onto to him and let him sit out, whether they fine him or not. If he is just not around the team, after a couple weeks the circus will die down. Season and games start it becomes background story.
Something will come around eventually. Injuries, desperation happens every year. I mean alternatively if Buddy was pouting and bitching (possible) and the best offer Monte was getting right now was the equivalent of a 2nd and Otto porter, I would hang on to Buddy regardless because that trade isn’t doing shit for the Kings.
Bigger scale but I think the Simmons thing is similar. That proposed trade does nothing for the Sixers, as it doesn’t give them a playmaker and Buddy is repetitive to Curry and Green.
Unless they can get mult picks back and parley those into a playmaker in a premade deal.
2 things I am out on
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