It hasn't been a smooth ride for the Sacramento Kings this 2019-20 NBA season. Though the coming of Luke Walton seemed to be a good sign in the right direction, things have just not panned out. Rather than entice the young core to play better, it has caused disharmony within the ranks. And the latest player who could be moving out is Buddy Hield.
The 6th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft has been relegated to a bench role. Before the Jan. 26 move, the 27-year-old guard had started for the Kings in 126 straight games. Though there was no explanation for the move, it seems to have worked for Sacramento. The Kings have compiled a 6-3 record with the change, hinting that this move could be permanent.
According to Sham Charania of The Athletic, this move could have consequences. Hield could be displeased with his role and eventually ask for a trade. The 6-foot-4 guard knows that he is a starter in the league. But given the Kings success, there is no guarantee that he will get his old job back.
As things stand now, the Kings tote a 21-33 win-loss record in the NBA Western Conference. And from the looks of it, they have practically no chance of making it to the playoffs. The decision to demote Hield could be viewed in different ways. One is that the Kings are trying to tweak the roster a bit to see if they can gain success through other players. The other is that Hield may have pinched a nerve when he went public to air his grievances last December, NBC Sports reported.
“I feel like I wasn’t trusted the past two games to be on the court, so as a player, no matter what, I feel like it’s my job to go out there and compete at a high level and guys know that if I’m struggling or not, they’ve still got to ride the wave,” Hield said at the time.
While he did apologize for that, there is a possibility that the Kings took offense. And while Walton says that the setup is temporary, it casts doubts on the future of Hield with the Kings.
Trust issues have often been mentioned within the team this season. Dewayne Dedmon aired the same grievance and is now gone. There is no telling if Hield will follow, although the script seems to be leaning towards that direction.
