Oh my god, did you guys hear the news? According to the Athletic's Jason Jones, Buddy Hield is ignoring calls from Luke Walton! And Buddy liked some posts on Instagram about the 76ers!
From Jones:
According to league sources, Hield has soured on Walton to the point he will not answer his coach's phone calls.
I'd suggest subscribing to the Athletic to get the rest of the story, but...that's the entire story. Everything else is just rehashing what we already know.
Is it news that Buddy Hield is unhappy? Absolutely not. Is it news that Luke Walton has lost this team? Nope. And yet this news is going to make the aggregation rounds because there's nothing else happening except for a boring Finals series where the Lakers are playing an injury-depleted Heat team that was already an underdog.
I didn't feel like writing about this earlier today because it felt like such a stupid story. Now I feel compelled to write about it because it is such a stupid story.
Luke Walton misused Buddy Hield on both ends of the floor last season. Buddy also thinks he's better than he actually is. Luke Walton can't communicate well with his team, and Buddy has now clashed with both Walton and Dave Joerger in consecutive seasons. It's all just pathetic.
Walton isn't a very good coach. Buddy is a pain in the ass. Both of them probably just need to suck it up and act like professionals. The story is getting old.
Stay tuned for next week's update in which we examine and interpret the emojis Buddy Hield uses in an off-the-cut tweet.
I’m so over this. Fire Walton & Trade Buddy. Gimme Becky Hammon & a young player/pick.
We’d probably get Stan Van Gundy and the Raptor’s pick.
I’m sure this disfunctional franchise is the ideal franchise for the first female head coach in NBA history. What could possibly go wrong?
I can see it now. Vivek standing on a ladder looking over his/her shoulder.
You can’t expect to change the culture doing the exact same thing over & over again.
Vivek cleaned house & replaced with people who aren’t previously from the Warriors or Kings, & built success in other franchises…except for one last spot.
Get rid of Walton & bring in Becky Hammon. She’s coming from the most consistently successful coach & franchise. Her being a woman only enhances the perspective that this is a whole new era for Sacramento.
I don’t really like the angle here. Jason Jones reported that Buddy isn’t returning Luke’s calls. I understand that others sites will aggregate the news, but we have a local reporter who has provided new information about a relevant topic through direct sourcing. It’s not a game of telephone.
I’m not questioning the validity of Jones’ reporting, I’m mocking the seriousness with which the teensiest bit of news is being treated.
I could be underestimating the importance of this. But I don’t think I am.
i mean how can you think player refuses to speak to his coach is not important? If this was Justin James, then yeah I agree. Buddy is being paid the equivalent of the gdp of South Dakota (slight exaggeration). This is obviously a harbinger of a public trade request unless something changes. That’s news, not gossip.
the Player being paid ~$95 million doesn’t want to be here. Heres a reminder of his past quotes:
we can all discuss the truthfulness of his statements. But we should also have some pride in our city. If he doesn’t want to be here, then we should help show him the door. You can’t claim to be the best fans in the world if your not willing to ensure players put some respect on the name.
I see what you’re saying but I don’t take it as a slap to the city as much as to this shit franchise. In the early 2000’s I remember Sac was the preferred destination of collegiate players. Or so I have some weird memory of such a thing being said.
I think a lot of the chatter about us being a shitty destination would go away if you had competency in the front office.
I was more pissed that he was out playing in the skinz tourney in Oklahoma after the NBA shut down. A franchise just committed 100 mill to you and you’re screwing around during a pandemic? Maybe I’m reading too much into it but that pissed me off.
If I was Buddy I’d be pissed at Walton but maybe he should look in the mirror. Or learn to dribble. Or play defense. Or pay attention.
Yeah the whole situation with Buddy just bothers me. He shoots the ball at an elite level, but he’s either average or below average at everything else. He is simply not the caliber of player that gets to openly ridicule a team and refuse to take calls from his coach.
He’s almost 30. If he has an problem, then he should handle it like an adult. It’s not childish for Luke to call Buddy to smooth things over. That’s what a boss should do! It’s childish to ignore the call. It’s childish to comment about potential trades on social media. It’s childish to play pickup games in an open gym during a freaking pandemic. It’s childish to not look in the mirror, and take responsibility for your own shortcomings. The situation is childish because Buddy decided to act like a child.
Luke is bad managing players. The way he mismanaged Dedmon in the beginning of the season sucked cause I thought Dedmon could have given us something but for some reason he was the only one in the dog house even though the whole team was playing like shit at the time. Killed that man’s confidence and desire to play for Luke.
The way he tries to turn Buddy an elite shooter who is most effective in that Duncan Robinson type of role and tries to make him a facilitator and when he predictably doesn’t flourish he benches him. It just seems like he puts players in positions to fail and blames them for failing and then wants to be the good guy in the end saying let’s work things out. I kind of understand why Buddy is thinking F off.
I don’t think Buddy is upset because the coach didn’t make him a catch and shoot guy. That’s the disconnect here. We think Buddy should have a very defined role. Buddy thinks he’s a star. The fans are upset with Luke, and Buddy is also upset at Luke, but that doesn’t mean Buddy and the fans are upset for the same reasons.
I think he’s upset with Luke because he benched him and at times would barely play him at the end of games as the season progressed. I saw that in the bubble as well. Luke would say look at his play and you would see why I benched him. Now why I think has Buddy regressed is due to Luke mismanagement of him.
i don’t like to compare NBA teams to the real world, but I think we can at least compare in the abstract. If an employee is upset about how they are treated, then isn’t an open dialogue the correct way to attempt to remedy the situation? Buddy has every right to be upset. I’m just not a big fan of absolving him of any criticism. He’s a diva. That’s the biggest impediment here. They can adjust his role, and continue to aid in his development, but if he doesn’t change his attitude, then none of that matters.
Yeah, Buddy’s personality has been a bit of a revelation the last 18 months. I suspect he’s simply trying to force his way out of town.
Name one big free agent that came to Sacramento
You have to go back to the 1990s for Divac, right?
We love for our athletes to be honest, right up to the point where we don’t like what they say with their honesty. Holding this statement against Hield seems like messenger shooting 101 to me.
I think Hield needs to go, but certainly not for that mild statement. Feigning civic pride indignation seems a little weird to me.
Feigning civic pride? As in, to intentionally give a false impression of having pride in one’s city?
I think you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill. The statement is factually correct, and no secret. Your mileage may vary.
You said basically the same thing when Buddy originally made the comment. Now Buddy is expressing his desire to get traded and not answering his coach’s calls. At what elevation can we officially declare a mole hill has reached mountain status?
(also I’ve been to the world’s highest hill in Poteau, Oklahoma, so I’m what some would call an expert on the subject)
I’m saying that as a native Sacramentan, I take zero offense to Hield’s free agent comment. No more, no less.
ok that’s fine. that doesn’t mean other fans are making a mountain out of mole hill for having a different opinion. I can be upset with Buddy’s behavior, and you can be okay with it. I just feel Buddy breached the pettiness threshold a long time ago. He has every right to be upset. That doesn’t mean we should condone his childishness, or say “both sides are at fault here” every time he’s insubordinate.
Honesty =/= insubordination.
My point is that Hield’s FA comment is not germane to the conversation, in my opinion. It is a statement of fact that casts no aspersions on or at Walton.
I’ve commented on the other aspects of this kerfuffle. Both Walton & Hield need to go. I’m not holding my breath.
Refusing to answer your boss’s call = insubordination. Maybe you were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when he was just stating the obvious that no one wants to play here, but at some point shouldn’t we say ok at this point it’s safe to assume Buddy is just an asshole?
You’re conflating here. My comment was very specific to the free agent comment. Period.
You seem to be very emotional about this and you’re reading/talking right past my comments. Life’s short. Moving on.
The lifecycle of engaging with rob:
Yikes! This is so typical of the year 2020 when two of my favorite posters here can’t even agree to disagree without leaving a pile of snark for each other.
Lol it’s like King Dong versus Godzilla
It’s like if I told someone to be honest your wife is ugly. Technically, I might be right. That doesn’t mean people are righteous for defending my right to call someone’s wife ugly. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for fans to be protective of their teams. Sometimes that means saying you’re not wrong Walter, you’re just an asshole.
This is a bad take. Sorry, you don’t dump on the town you play for. Especially when the town is one of the most supportive in the league. And this isn’t messenger shooting. He is the moron that said it. I’m a lurker and I generally enjoy your comments but you might want this one back
And I’m sorry, I confused you with someone else. I actually don’t enjoy your takes usually. I was not intentionally being a jerk but I felt the need to correct myself
” If he doesn’t want to be here, then we should help show him the door.”
AND 1!!!!!!!!
Nothing else happening? Ahem…
Few thoughts here:
a. Thought Lose Alton is the players coach
b. Has Alton tried texting Hield if he’s not picking up the phone?
c. What needs to be done for Alton to resign while the kangz aren’t paying the remainder of his stupid salary? Maybe a settlement so everyone can be happy?
league sources
So it appears Kings coaches or management leaked this to slam their player.
Dear Mr. McNair,
This shit is old. You want to get rid of the Mickey Mouse label on this franchise, start here.
jason Jones has relationships with players. This has been obvious for years now. He literally says that management won’t even speak with him because he presents the players’ viewpoint.
Jones also has had a direct line to the FO for years. He’s always been a source for Vlade.
This story makes Buddy seem like a knucklehead, so at least in my mind it seems like a management source.
I mean, Buddy is a knucklehead. I can just as easily see him thinking that this is a “statement”, as I could the team thinking this is a nice little slam.
The same way he plays defense unfortunately
wait what? Buddy has openly said things that make him seem like a knucklehead for over a year now. Why would he care about his appearance now if the goal is to get traded? Like I don’t even understand how anyone can even think that Jones’ source is anyone other than Buddy (or his people). I’m literally dumbfounded that anyone could ever think otherwise.
This story is an attempt by Buddy (or his team) to get out of Sac. how do you not see that?
Yeah, this feels more like a Buddy thing.
What? Why? Opposing teams will offer less for him assuming that he wants out. Why would management leak such a story?
It is in the interest of both parties to come together while saying everything is fine, while offering each to accommodate a trade that will please both parties.
Buddy has a big ego and is dumb.
Hmmm…
I feel like there is more to this but I cannot quite piece it all together.
I could see Buddy’s people leaking this, if they want to expedite a trip out of town.
And as little as I care for guys like Jason Jones, I think most of these newspaper guys follow basic journalistic principals so they aren’t simply being led by the nose by one side.
Looking at incentives:
Kings/McNair would benefit from things looking happy and shutting this story down, because it would increase Buddy’s value and allow any potential trade to happen on their terms.
Buddy, since it seems he wants out, would benefit from sowing discord and creating chaos because it would force the Kings to consider a trade sooner.
It’s strange to conclude that this came from the Kings because of “league sources” which seems to imply anyone related to the league in some way.
You are correct Greg.
Interested to see what McNair does with this.
Buddy or Joerger I would have picked Joerger. Buddy or Luke I’m going with Buddy.
Why not neither?
They can both bugger off, for all I care.
Just clean ship, tank hard, bring in an exorcist and attack Matina with garlic and a stake.
Agree…fire Walton, and trade Hield away (get another pick)
Draft Aaron Nesmith & P. Williams…….& Tyrese Maxey
Yep, I am starting to come around to this line of thinking …
If we are trading Hield I would want a first round pick in a stacked 2021 draft if I was Mcnair, forget this year.
You assume that will be enough. Matina is eternal, Matina is forever.
Brings me back to a time with snakes…grass…something like that. Anyway, be professional. That is all.
Sucks having a Laker for a coach who can’t coach and a star player who is incredibly overrated acting like a disruptive bedwetter. Hield is a 6th man at best. He has the dribbling skills of a 7th grader, he can’t create his own shot, he’s an inept defender, he doesn’t do assists, rebounds, or anything else that winning teams rely upon. He’s also a turnover machine and dumb as a box of rocks. Regardless of Walton being a joke, shipping Hield out of here is the first thing McNair should do. Make him go stand in the corner for Embid and Simmons and take anything you can get. Addition by subtraction. Gimme Furkan Korkmaz (that’s a real person right?) or anyone. Tobias Harris isn’t exciting but would be highway robbery at this point.
Absolutely no way………
We are not selling low……..
We should know what our strategy is for this off-season and next year…
Off-season
1) Grab as many assets as possible (2020 / 2021 draft picks)
Next season
1) Tank, and get 1st pick….
We all know who Hield was…and GM should NOT do what the players want……
If 76ers give me a fair trade, then do it…but front office should not just sell Hield low….
If Hield plays well next season…his value is up again..and GM can trade him in mid-season (if he wants)
If Hield plays poorly, our record will reflect it, which would helps our positioning….no harm at all.
Yep, and his contract is extremely attractive as it declines every year.
For a 2 guard, buddy rebounds pretty well from what I’ve seen. If he went to the sixers and just ran the same dribble hand off cuts that reddick did, he’d be cooking in the east. I don’t think the kings need to sell low on buddy.
to Philly? Not for Horford. Maybe for Embiid.
Agreed. HELL NO to Horford. HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL NO.
It so ridiculous to see all these trade scenarios where we dump Buddy for nothing but the chance to get rid of him, as if he carries no value.
Most of the ones I have seen have us swapping Hield for Horford with the Kings throwing in extra!
Why, because the Kings were rumored to want Horford after he left Celtics (but before he showed that he was just a shadow of his former self).
Any trade with Philly should start with Matisse Thybulle with Philly having to add assets if we take on any additional long-term salary. Otherwise, wait until next offseason.
I’d prefer a 3rd team involved with Philly and taking one of their picks. I don’t know how much I want a couple of mid 20s picks from Philly for Hield just to take Horford off their hands.
I doubt Thybulle will be available. He’s a very good value to Philly with their cap situation.
Buddy has a lot of flaws, but I’m pretty sure he’s a good rebounder for a G. He should be traded if there’s a good deal available, but trading him for Tobias Harris would be awful.
buddy is tradeable but he is not a toxic asset that we have to dump in a bad trade. Bobby Jackson always wanted to start but that didn’t stop him from playing hard.
Bobby Jackson ever did not return hid coach’s phone calls and complained about coming off the bench?
The team has levearge, but Buddy can make the situation so unworkable that he will become a toxic asset. And he seems to have no qualms about going that direction.
…A toxic asset that can really hurt his trade value. Once he requests the trade demand his value immediately drops. Other teams will hold the leverage in negotiations.
Yup.
just rumors. Maybe he was in a bad spot and would return the call later. I’d rather not make a big deal of it.
Buddy went from completely loveable, favorite King to absolutely annoying within a year’s time. His various quotes from the past year speak for themselves.
Through all this Buddy-Walton drama, one has to wonder what Vivek’s relationship with Buddy is, afterall, Vivek is the one that had a hard one for him and saw him as KlaySteph in one.
Three of the biggest mistakes of Divac. #1-Firing Joerger- He had the team moving in the right direction and I believe he wanted to take Luka. #2- Not taking Luka – obviously. #3- Signing a good pro player, Buddy Hield, to a superstar contract. Hield forced this extension, but he never would have been able to if they had Luka on the roster.
I would hire Gentry- I think he is a better coach than Walton. If I had the opportunity to trade Hield for a good young-ish player and a draft pick, I would do it.
I’m not understanding the thoughts of Gentry as head coach. Color me confused but I don’t think he is that great. In 17 years as a head coach he’s made the playoffs 3 times. He’s got a career .462% winning percentage. The Pels that he just coached were one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
IMO, Gentry would be better as lead assistant who can specialize in the offense, but I really don’t want him running the whole team.
The Pels were a terrible defensive team with a lot of good defensive players, no less. .
Agree. He’s going to be a great asset to Philly’s new coaching staff. Maybe he unlocks Simmons offensively.
Amazing that he has enough missteps that the Sixers trade doesn’t even make the top 3. That alone is good argument for firing him.
One cannot take something seriously if it refuses to take itself seriously. – Long Suffering Kangz Fan
The GM has changed. He has a long road to hoe to change the culture.
Both Walton & Hield need to go, but that is unlikely to occur in the near-term. Meanwhile, the Kings organization once again devalues an asset, arguably their best (when you factor in durability) player over these past few years.
Fox is a better player than Buddy. Otherwise I agree.
Fox is the franchise cornerstone, and the team is at it best when he plays. He is the current future for the Kings & their most important player/asset. But when you factor in his availability vs. Hield’s, the argument can be made that Hield has been the best player over the time that both have been here.
Fox’s ankles are a concern. He needs a Curry style program to keep injuries at bay.
IIRC, Fox missed roughly 20 games last season, but not many games in his 1st 2 seasons. I don’t think that’s enough games missed for Buddy to surpass Fox.
Hield was significantly better than Fox in Fox’s 1st season, and for as much as Fox improved in his next season, so did Hield. He was better than Fox in Fox’s 2nd year, though they both exceeded expectations of the time.
Hield played in 100% of the games this year. Fox 71%. That is my reasoning for why Hield was the better overall player this year when taking the entire season into account. Better health for Fox this year would have clearly made him the better player.
…the next three replies argue against this statement.
Fact Check: I deem this statement mostly true
Trade him, he is the highest paid player on the team and is cry baby. He has been making comments on social media that are negative and he lacks professionalism. He has put the city and franchise down, he needs to go. I’m going to hope that McNair can get decent value in return but Buddy hasn’t done much to raise his stock lately.
LOL
How would you all feel about trading Buddy for Joel Embiid? Philly has a mess with their books and roster construction. Embiid and Horford don’t fit well and no one wants Horford. There are rumors that Simmons and Embiid don’t get along. A lot of people in Philly are convinced that one of them has to be traded. Plus Embiid requires load management, playing only 60-65 games per year. Let me know.
are you proposing an Embiid/Buddy trade without any other assets/contracts involved?
Pretty much. To make salaries match we could throw in Jabari Parker.
Including Fox and a couple 1sts might get you in the door. Maybe.
Then let’s keep Hield and let him score the ball. Everyone says he could fit well next to a playmaking small forward? How about Naji Marshall?
WTH?
Joel Embiid is one step away. He is 40 pounds overweight with bad structural issues.
Hes becoming less effective by the year
Im not even a big Fox guy but he wouldnt be included. You wouldnt trade for him
You’re right, I wouldn’t trade for him. But if the Sixers do decide to move him it’s going to cost some franchise A LOT more than a Buddy Hield level asset.
Did Embiid break a leg or something? No way the 6ers would trade him for Buddy. I don’t think any assets on our team would convince them to trade Embiid.
if McNair pulls that off he’d be up for GM of the year.
No. Hes becoming less effective by the year and is one step away, you wouldnt trade for him
One step away from what?
from what happened to Cousins
Thats overweight/bad conditioning on bad structure
Which reminds me, it is time to for Dearest DeMarcus to return.
#BoogieBacktoSac
His injuries are concerning, but he hasn’t been getting less effectively. In fact, when he’s been on the floor he’s been remarkably consistent and arguably improving year over year.
nothing else really interests me on the Philly roster apart from Simmons who should be untouchable. And i would even have some hesitation dealing for Embiid because of the health risk. Hield has waaaaay more mileage left in him than Embiid. A real motor. Runs more than anyone else in the nba.