NBA Trade Rumors: Sacramento Kings looking to acquire a bunch of assets in order to move Buddy Hield
The Sacramento Kings are one of the struggling franchises in the NBA and have not qualified for the playoffs in the past 14 years. The team last won an NBA championship in 1951 as the Rochester Royals and haven't seen success since. However, that never deterred them from making moves in the offseason. The latest NBA trade rumors have been surrounding Kings' guard Buddy Hield.
The Kings wish to re-sign Bogdan Bogdanovic in free agency by matching the Atlanta Hawks' offer made to him. In the mix of all that, Buddy Hield's name came up as a potential trade asset. That sparked a bevy of NBA trade rumors linking the player with several teams, including the Dallas Mavericks.
NBA Trade Rumors: Sacramento Kings reveal their trade demands for Buddy Hield
In the 2020 offseason, the Atlanta Hawks offered free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic a 4-year $72 million deal and as he is a restricted free agent, the Sacramento Kings have a chance to match the offer in order to retain him.
Buddy Hield's name came up in trade discussions simply to avoid exceeding the salary cap. The Kings already have nearly $97 million allocated for the 2020-21 season. Signing Bogdanovic for an estimated $18 million would push the team’s payroll to $115 million, well over the $109.1 million salary cap. And that doesn’t account for the newly-drafted Tyrese Haliburton.
Buddy Hield is due to make $24.4 million in the first year of his new deal, and the Kings plan to trade him away in exchange for assets to avoid crossing the cap threshold.
Sacramento Bee's Jason Anderson reported what the team would be looking for, writing:
"When asked about Hield’s potential trade value, the source said the Kings would probably be looking for ‘a good young player or players and draft picks."
The Kings hired Luke Walton as their new head coach last season but as amazing as he is, Buddy Hield wasn't happy at the new coaching change as Walton moved him to the bench.
After starting all 82 games in the previous season, Buddy Hield became disgruntled at the fact that the team made him a bench player, and his numbers subsequently took a hit. He was averaging career highs until he got benched, and NBA trade rumors suggest he recently demanded to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
Buddy Hield and the Sacramento Kings are evidently unhappy with each other which makes the possibility of a trade more likely.
Also Read: NBA Rumors: Teams across the league preparing dossiers should Giannis Antetokounmpo become a free agent