Buddy Hield – Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings have been dangling Buddy Hield in front of teams for some time now and he seems like one of the guys that will definitely be on the move during the 2021-22 season, that is if he is not traded before then! Since being traded from New Orleans to Sacramento during the 2016-17 season, Hield has averaged 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and has shot 40.9% from three-point range. 

The Lakers were in talks with the Kings on a trade that would involve Buddy Hield going to Los Angeles prior to the NBA Draft, but these trade talks ended when the Lakers added Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards instead. 

Washington shot 35.1% from deep last season as a team, which ranked them 22nd in the league. Perimeter shooting is very important in today’s NBA and in fact, eight of the ten teams who finished in the bottom ten in the league in three-point shooting percentage missed the playoffs. The Wizards and the Lakers were the only two teams that were outliers in this category and made the playoffs. 

Buddy Hield is definitely a sharpshooter that Washington could benefit by adding to their roster, the only question though is what/who would they have to give up. It was mentioned in NBA trade rumors that Sacramento did have interest in both Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell before they were traded to Washington, but they could also have interest in Davis Bertans, who would replace Hield as a three-point shooter on the wing. 

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The 28-year-old Hield is definitely available in trade talks, but his contract may not be favorable to Washington’s long-term plans. Buddy Hield is owed $61.5M over the next three seasons and his contract is fully-guaranteed, which could cause some salary problems for the Wizards in the grand scheme of things.