In a flurry of activity this afternoon it seemed the Buddy-Hield-to-the-Lakers deal could be on the verge of being done, and a second later it seems it might be dead.
First, Montrezl Harrell opted into his player option, a necessary step before completing the proposed Buddy Hield deal. Woj indicated that the deal could be near completion.
With Harrell opt-in, Lakers are able to to move toward completing a deal to acquire Kings guard Buddy Hield for forward Kyle Kuzma and Harrell, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 29, 2021
That trade still needs to be agreed upon, but there's been momentum toward its ultimate completion, per sources. https://t.co/9W4KRY0YXg
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 29, 2021
But then Shams Charania reported that some of those same players could be part of a package being sent to the Washington Wizards to Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers and Wizards are discussing a trade that would send Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Westbrook, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The Lakers' No. 22 pick in the Draft could be in play, too. https://t.co/RQOnlyVnBS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 29, 2021
It's unclear if the Kings were used for leverage on Washington, or if Washington is being used for leverage against the Kings.
This is all completely up in the air and we will continue to update as we learn more.
Update:
Woj is now also saying the Lakers are focused on Westbrook. It seems like the Buddy Hield trade with LA is dead.
The Lakers are near a deal to acquire Washington's Russell Westbrook for Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and a 2021 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 29, 2021
Update 2:
The Washington Wizards have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook, 2024 second-round pick, 2028 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and No. 22 tonight, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 30, 2021
Kangz
I have a feeling we’ll be saying the same thing after we select Kispert tonight.
Well, shit.
At the end of the day we are ending up with just Corey Kispert.
I just know it.
Ugh. I’m going to have to look at that patchouli-stink headband 82 times a year, and I’m not going to like it.
If this happens the Lakers will literally have 3 players under contract that make up 100% of their cap space.
And Westbrook is a career %30 3-pt shooter. I think Buddy would’ve actually helped them and not cost them KCP as well.
My sentiment as well. Before people kill Monte over this i’m just perplexed on Pelinka’s logic. If he thinks this is a wiser deal to pursue, it doesn’t strike me that the late first ask would have been the difference of him going Buddy instead. This deal is worse for them.
Agree. For all we know this wasn’t even getting played by the Lakers as much as it was a savvy move from WAS. They very well could’ve seen what Lakers were willing to give up for Hield, sat back and waited for Harrell to opt in, and once that news broke, called up LA and said, “heeeyyyyy…how about Westbrook??”
But that’s just it. Which side leaked this deal to the media? It’s been hanging in the air for literally days. It gave the entire league plenty of time to gauge the package LA was offering, giving everyone plenty of time to put together something better.
Contrast this with the A’s move yesterday of picking up Starling Marte for Jesus Luzardo. Who had that on their radar? Absolutely no one, because it was all done quietly in the background, as these things should be done.
Pelinka ain’t pulling the strings in Lakers front office, LeGM is. Pelinka thought about bringing Hield since he used to be his agent. Lebron vetoed the trade and had Rich Paul call Westbrook about joining him.
Okay, Mr. Assumption.
Same exact thing I said to my son when I read this post. Well said. Concise. Accurate. Too close to tragic. I was so looking forward to seeing Buddy head down south. Fuck. Don’t think it will happen tonite but I hope to see Marv traded for kittens or whatever.
If the Kings just go played here by the Lakers I never want to see “McGenius” on this site ever again.
Andy to ask you to prove it in 3…2…
Mr. AdamSite should know better than to make a comment like that without showing Mr. Sims the receipts.
I hedged my bet by making sure to include “may have” haha
How is this McNair’s fault? It’s the hottest day of activity of the year for the NBA. So many moving parts and last min deals. He’s done his due diligence and being in a position to even get the kind of haul for Buddy he may have had on the table is a huge improvement from the past.
The optics will be that the Kings front office got played last year in the Bogi deal and now here again.
Day’s not over, but if nothing transpires and you thought that Buddy Hield wasn’t happy here before, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
If there are any bags of chips available from other NBA teams, Monte should start inquiring.
Low sodium preferred – we’re salty enough around here already.
Call up Flint. Maybe we can get a washing machine out of Jackie Moon.
There are bunch of other players on this team who need to be moved around to make it better. I don’t want to hear about how the job is too hard. I want to see something that might improve the team, even if it’s just financial flexibility.
I agree. The job likely is hard, but that’s part of the deal. I want results, not excuses as well. Day isn’t over, so let’s see how it plays out.
Agreed! I was hopeful on the Hield deal. There’s still time left.
Exactly
It’s more like Vlonte McDivac … the guy has literally done nothing impressive since the day he got here.
His best “accomplishment” was drafting Haliburton, and that did not take a McGenius to do it.
In all honesty, he seems and looks more like the guy that hands out towels at the front desk of the gym.
Jesus, seriously?
I want a championship NOW, daddy!
Well, that name dies tonight if he takes House Plant or Bad Moody.
McGenius lives for now, though what you are saying is not very sensible.
Are you saying our GM should only pursue trades he knows in advance will work out or he should have known another team would intervene with a more appealing offer (player)?
What kind of weird logic is that? Our GM should pursue all viable leads whether they bear fruit or not, knowing most will not. Most trade discussions amount to nothing, probably 90% by my guess.
I will tell you one other thing: Who cares if Buddy if offended! He lost the right to have his feelings given priority or assauged with his antics and his AWFUL play for most of all of last season, and pretty much playing his team out of ANY chance for post-season 2-3 years in a row.
So you know who has the right to be more upset than Buddy that he is the subject of a failed trade attempt? The team that wanted to get rid of him for better assets and the fans still witness to him and his underachieving self on the roster.
It was cool to have hope for like 23 hours.
Buddy to Vivek.
Some of the rumors yesterday made it seem like Philly (and possibly others) had interest in Hield as well, so hopefully McNair has a decent contingency plan.
Milwaukee is going to lose bryn Forbes to free agency. Maybe they can use buddy to replace Forbes’ shooting by revisiting the divincenzo deal from last year. Or celts can trade for buddy if they think Fournier will cost too much to re-sign. Several teams can use elite shooting.
I thought we weren’t down with domestic violence and sexual assault guys around here…
*ducks*
Haha it was the most difficult upvote I’ve given since TKH’s inception.
Quick, call Philly and ask if that bag of chips is still available!!!
Honestly it’s looking like it might be a quiet day for the Kangz. Even going full steam with the draft party plans tonight I’m told so I don’t even think they are dealing the pick either.
Welcome back to the running it back Kangz.
We’ve lived the same season for like four straight years now….
We’re being used, plain as day. We should focus on the draft because we are not getting anything for anyone unless there is a blockbuster that sends one of our real assets like Fox or Hali on the move. We’re not even whores. Whores get paid.
Did the Kangz get catfished? I think they got catfished.
Honest question: Does Westbrook help them more than Buddy even though Buddy’s not elite„¢ the last couple of years? I guess maybe if you assume there will be injuries?
I agree he does not. If anything, he takes the ball out of Lebron’s hands and doesn’t offer the one thing the Lakers need most: 3 pt shooting
I like Buddy for them better than Russell. It sounds crazy, but at least we’re not alone.
Yea, I don’t see how Westbrook is a clear upgrade to Shroeder in terms of what the Lakers need. I’m guessing the Lakers think it’s nice to have three all stars on the team, and let Vogel figure things out.
I don’t get it either. Westbrook plays like Lebron when they need complimentary pieces around him.
That’s my take. And if you assume LeBron and/or Davis are out a third of the time, I’m not sure Westbrook fills the gap anyway.
LA can’t resist putting a “superstar” like Westbrook in a Lakers uniform. Their starry-eyed, brain-free fanbase can’t help but salivate all over their GED certificates whenever it happens.
I don’t get the Westbrook fit with LB and AD. Buddy makes more sense.
As a consolation prize, I think this makes the Lakers worse.
Maybe Westbrook will play a ton of minutes so lebron won’t break down for the playoffs.
Im sure they will stagger extensively as well. This is still a very dumb deal for the Lakers. Any commentary on the failings for the Kings to get it over the line have to include that. Lakers have committed 120 million yearly in 3 players who dont complement eachother, and only have possibly 3 additional players not those three rostered. That is bad GMing simply put.
Though the word on the street is they have a lot of vet minimum interest.
Im sure they do. Ring chasers is definitely the play they are betting on. Of course LA has advantages in that regard. Thats still a huge gap for them to close in my estimation. Their lack of complementary depth was a problem before this. They have less room to play with now.
Oh, I agree. I don’t like this move for them. Which, of course, means I like this move.
Let me compliment you for correct spelling of “complementary”!
Oh, definitely. I’m just trying to make sense for why they would make this trade. Even paying Schroeder the 20 million he was asking for would have been cheaper than this deal. It screams of desperation to make good on LeBron’s last few years.
Disclaimer: Russ IS NOT D-WADE
But LeBron has won it all with a non shooting secondary ball handler before. Also, in the Bubble playoffs, Rondo played a majority of minutes at the PG and they won.
Point is, LeBron can make it work with anybody and the biggest thing he seemed to need all the time to win the most was a 20+ ppg secondary ball-handler.
Buddy would have helped their shooting but I’d rather take Russ and try to get JJ Redick on a minimum deal and see if guys like Otto Porter, Nic Batum or Moe Harkless would like to rebuild their value on the cheap for one season.
Plus the Lakers had issues making it thru the regular season with LeBron and AD hurt, Russ takes care of the regular season.
Bottom line Russ over Buddy any day on a championship hungry team.
Woj is just fucking with us now.
Call LA and drop the demands for the 22nd and KCP (or Harrell), and call it a deal.
Without the 22, I’m not interested.
Buddy is!
Now folks are taking shots at us.
Now we just need Kispert to complete the humiliation!
Bwahaha
It may be too late for Monte to start cooking up another deal for Hield by draft time. You can bet they had no fallback plan. Now it’s Bagley in a salary dump and call it a night.
Well, hell. This just went from a Laphroaig evening to an Old Style and Evan Williams afternoon. Here’s to another year of Buddy suiting up in a Kings uniform!
I figured its more of a Olde English type night now..As many 20’s as possible as cheap as possible to drown the night
I’m so fired up for tonight.
Silver lining: not having to root for Kyle Kuzma.
Two consolation prizes!
Media leaks got us again. Ultimate Kangz.
Come on Kings, everyone is making trades!
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1420864203892707328
Is Monte using Vlade’s old landline and fax machine?
We’ve gone green!
Government surveillance on it’s charging dock.
Sorry Buddy, Lebron didn’t want you on his squad. He told Pelinka to use you as a negotiating ploy to land Westbrook.
Double bonus Kangz points: (1) getting clowned on for a Hield – Kuzma exchange and (2) getting clowned on for not closing the deal on said exchange
Ah, without fail, the Kangz get used as leverage for another deal, likely ending up in a player being unhappy (though really, they should be professionals) and then us getting squat/less for him later.
Maybe we can still pull off some sort of trade with Washington, but god damn that’s annoying.
Why are we disappointed? I wouldn’t trade Hield for Westbrook straight up. So Lakers are getting worse in this deal. That’s a good thing?
Westbrook is far superior to Hield as an overall player, but I think that Hield is the better fit in LA. That said, the Kings are in shitsville right now if they don’t come up with another deal for Hield. He is going to be even less happy than before.
We should be calling the Knicks right now for a salary dump deal for Hield.
He’ll get over it?
Buddy might still get traded, maybe even in a better deal but I’m not really sure why his personal feelings about it are a factor at all.
His personal feelings are a contributing factor as to why the Kings are trying to move him.
If you liked Buddy negotiating his contract in the media or bitching about coming off the bench, you’ll love him after the team tries and fails to trade him.
Again, my feelings on this are “yeah, whatever, nevermind”. Despite his public pouting, he’s still a decent NBA player (and an elite volume shooter). If that changes, he can go pout from the bench and cash checks for the balance of his contract.
If there’s a trade available that makes the Kings better and Buddy is part of it, fine, trade him. If not, don’t.
Above average
Lakers were just using us to leverage the deal with Westbrook. I thought Buddy’s value seemed a bit high in the talks.
Trades going on everywhere, just not with the Kings yet. In all honesty, I only liked the Lakers trade if the 22 pick was included. The day is still young.
If Bagley, Hield and Barnes are all still with the team by midnight, someone at Golden1 needs to get the ax.
You rang?!
Monty should have sweetened the pot by including Barnes in the deal. We still would have come out ahead.
The Kings need to think full reset here, and jettison some of this dead wood.
WTH? So you would clear the “deadwood” by sending 40 million for two more years (Barnes and Hield together) by taking back 26 million for two more years from two worse players and a 20’s draft pick. (Harrell is a whatever for just one year, if thats the surrounding team)
Got it.
No Monte should not have included Barnes lol.
The Kings have a very long list of bad trades/draft picks, as we all know. The Barnes trade is right up there as one of the worst. The sooner we get rid of him, the better.
If I had my choice, I would actually try to keep Buddy over Barnes.
Another year or 2 of Barnes, thinking he’s above average (which he is not), thinking he’s going to contribute to a winning team, is going to set the Kings back even farther.
Kings FO staff looking at Monty:
Washington completely shafted in this deal. They could have traded Westbrook for more than that
Disagree. The Wiz won that trade.
I don’t think that is the case. They get a first and 3 actual contributing players.
I think the Kings need to pay top dollar for their management and get people who know what the hell they’re doing. Not a pretty freshly minted assistant to the general manager that came from analytics.
The Kangz are shit. They need people who can bounce back and think on their feet with trades and have plans A to fucking Z.
Now we’re going to have nothing but a draft pick. Which…woohoo. Not enough to change the suck trajectory of this team.