Welcome, Buddy Hield

I'll confess that even if Buddy makes it good and Vivek get proven "right", I'll still hate this trade but still be happy for Buddy and the Kings. I can do that right?

Well he is about the same age as Ben.

Welcome buddy. Make Kings fans fans again.

I'm encouraged by that December - February set of stats. .430 3PT%, 5.2 RPG, 2.4 APG and .5 SPG is a nice all around game.

Here is some insight into Buddy Hields adjustment into the NBA:

Spending the entire day at the arena was his typical game day routine last season at the University of Oklahoma when he was a senior star. Hield wanted to keep his routine going in the NBA, but the Pelicans advised him not to because of the league's demanding 82-day game schedule.

''They said it's not good to do because there are so many games and on the road traveling,'' Hield said after Wednesday's shootaround. ''It's a different routine, you've got to go home and rest up. But I've got to find my routine out, I'm new to this. But that's (college routine) what got me here, so I'm going to try and not forget what got me here.''

Link to story--> http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/2016/10/pelicans_rookie_buddy_hield_fo.html

Jerry Reynolds after Buddy makes a 3...."there was a high Hield on that investment"

"He's going to be everyones 'Buddy' if he keeps making shots like that!"

And Lebron co signed McLemore

Welcome Buddy!

You better play your heart out here for the Kings fans!!!

Hopefully, you will prove us all wrong and become an All-Star soon!!!

Although I'm not sure if this is sarcastic because his averages are basically the same, his efficiency drastically improved.

No, not sarcastic and no, his averages aren't the same. Absolute numbers are essentially meaningless without the context of efficiency. Someone scoring 15 points on 17 shots is far different than someone scoring 15 points on 14 shots. That's improvement.

Here is a good breakdown of Heild's game so far this year

http://nbamath.com/checking-in-with-buddy-hield-unexpected-centerpiece-of-demarcus-cousins-deal/

I was high on this kid in the draft and he has a well documented great work ethic. I think he is going to surprise people and be really good here. He did better once Jrue Holiday got back and was able to set him up some more. His ideal PG is a playmaker.

Pretty excited to see him play!

Was trying to get a read on your intentions here. If its dark humor I'll go for it. If it's serious, there's some not entirely honest lumping go on. Here's Buddy Hield, month by month:

OCT: 17.7min 4.7pts (.281TS%) 2.3reb 1.3ast 0.7stl 1.0TO
NOV: 16.5min 7.4pts (.467TS%) 2.3reb 1.0ast 0.3stl 0.8TO
DEC: 22.3min 10.6pts (.560TS%) 2.8reb 1.4ast 0.2stl 0.9TO
JAN: 22.7min 8.6pts (.498TS%) 3.8reb 1.5ast 0.3stl 1.0TO
FEB: 21.2min 8.1pts (.526TS%) 3.0reb 1.8ast 0.6stl 0.5TO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOT: 20.4min 8.6pts (.502TS%) 2.9reb 1.4ast 0.3stl 0.8TO 9.9PER


So I mean...are we making progress there? Is there some great upward trend, beyond something Nik Rocks! or Ben would have done, at a younger age? His best month was 3 months ago. There's not even any disruption on defense. His crotch grabbing game has been on the rise, I will give you that.

All those years when Ben was actively hurting the Kings, and Boogie's, chances of actually pulling off more wins? That's what Buddy has been this year for the Pels. The struggling rook you have to play because some fool drafted him high. But he was pulling them down. Not only did they gain Boogie, with a Casspi "throw in", they gained by losing a bad rookie's minutes. I won't task him with the "he's Steph Curry!" B.S. as that's obviously blatantly unfair, but in numbers, game, and age, there is nothing there to make Hield any more promising of a prospect than Ben or Nik were at the same age. I think a much younger Malachi may have been more impressive. Then there's Bogdan...but oh, excuse me, Peaches is trying to sell his mindless mob on Bogdan being a SF in the NBA. Hope he enjoys the nightly matchups with LeBron and Giannis.

Its a welcome thread, so it is what it is. He'll join the universe of young Kings SGs and may the best man win. But attaching expectations to this rook based on the stupidity of the trade or front office that brought him here, is dubious. He's going to be just another kid figuring it out, not a savior.

Yes, he's certainly improved after his first two months in the league. Thank you for supporting it.

Also, my post had nothing...let me repeat...nothing to do with how I feel about the trade. Please don't confuse my optimism that he's improved since the beginning of the season (which he has) as me being some Hield fanboy who thinks he's god's gift to basketball.

He improved. I supported it. You supported it. End of story.

EDIT: His On/Off also went from -18.7 in Oct/Nov to +1.5 in Dec/Jan/Feb. He improved.

Offensive On/Off per Month:
Oct = -10.9
Nov = -12.6
Dec = +1.9
Jan = -11.9
Feb = +19.3

Defensive On/Off per Month:
Oct = +7.4
Nov = +6.0
Dec = +2.9
Jan = -0.8
Feb = -8.8

Overall On/Off per Month:
Oct = -18.3
Nov = -18.6
Dec = -1.0
Jan = -11.1
Feb = +28.1

What's most promising to me is that his Defensive On/Off got better every month. Your shot can come & go and you can go through cold streaks, but hopefully this is a trend that he's figuring it out defensively and willing to put the work in on that side of the ball to be a positive contributor even when his offense isn't clicking.

Serious question: How can Buddy Hield improve on his off-dribble shooting? It seems like the biggest thing preventing him from becoming a better scorer is his lack of quickness.
How can he fix this? Devin Booker is a player with average quickness and athleticism, but he has no problem creating his shots. What does Hield need to do?

I think that's the big difference between Hield becoming the next Jodie Meeks vs. top 15 SG.

Improve his ball handling and develop floaters.

Buddy seems to be a comfortable ball handler. However, he just doesn't have many advanced dribbles or moves. When he does perform cross-overs, he doesn't seem to be quick enough to use it to his advantage.
Looking back at my Devin Booker comment, I think Booker is a lot quicker than Hield, and they're two completely different players. But in general, Booker can get his jumpshot off fairly easy and quick. Even when he doesn't have space, he's able to get a great elevation on his shot and make them.
Hield has struggled to get space and separation.

Hopefully we'll see Hield continue to improve on his shooting and dribbling.

Sean CunninghamVerified account‏@SeanCunningham 1m1 minute ago


New Kings rookie Buddy Hield is thrilled to be with a team that coveted him so much.

Thanks for posting this, was just about to do something similar. He struggled getting adjusted right off the bat, but he's looked infinitely more comfortable with more experience.

I know people will hate this, but he DID play exactly like Steph Curry in college and absolutely destroyed everyone doing so. I suspect a big reason for his early struggles is he went from the best scorer in the country and the absolute top alpha dog to nothing more than a shooter next to AD, Jrue and even Reke. That's a huge adjustment for anyone to make.

I fully expect for him to get more ball and more opportunities to show he can create off the bounce. He's a far better playmaker and ball-handler than people think. He certainly isn't Ben McLemore

Not sure how much Hield you've gotten to see this year, but he really never got the chance to use his offensive game. He was squarely behind AD, Jrue and Tyreke and then fought with Langston, Moore for playing time and shots. It's really easy to get enamored with Booker, but he's also squarely in the #2 role getting 18 shots a game while playing 35 minutes a game. And not really doing much with it either:

53% TS
27.9% USG
36.7% 3pt
15% AST rate


We'll see what happens, but college Buddy Hield had pretty much every shot and move in the book. Interested to see if he gets the opportunity to use it now.

I hope they give him those keys and let him be the player he was in college. If it fails it fails, but there is no reason to not let him go out there and be what he is.

People won't hate it if he turns out to be as good as some of you think he might be. We'll probably rejoice. It doesn't change the fact Vivek's track record on picking guards sucks.

Joerger's a quality structured NBA coach. He's not going to just let some struggling rook act like he's Iverson out there. In fact I would guess that the fate of the vets is important to Hield's time. If Vlade can't find some way to give away Collison, along with a few future firsts to make the deal fair most likely, then you are talking a veteran backcourt of Collison, Lawson, Galloway, Tyreke, Temple, McLemore, and maybe even Afflalo, although I would think given everything he might be a waiver candidate. That's way too many veteran bodies to be guaranteeing Hield 30min a night and chuck until you drop privileges. That's before Malachi, who frankly might be the more impressive rookie guard given his age, comes back. If he comes back of course.

Given what was done to the roster, and Vlade's apparent determination to trade away any and all friends of Cuz, some of those guys are going to have to play up at SF, but there's still more than enough bodies there that if healthy, Joerger wouldn't even have to play the rook a minute. I'm sure that won't happen, the situation is too obvious for that. But turning the team over to a relatively slow and unathletic 8ppg rookie with directions to "just go create something?" Seems highly doubtful.

Hate the trade but excited about Buddy. That's where I'm at, what's done is done and can't be undone so hoping for the best... And the best is Hield turning out to be a great player. Love the work ethic, love the shooting stroke. Gonna have to wait awhile for the results unfortunately though I think, gonna take some time.

Welcome to SacTown , remember , just have fun out there!

Booker has a much faster release than Hield. His shot stroke is also a thing of beauty.

One thing that hurts Hield so much is that he's a lot older than Booker so you have to wonder how much more he can really develop. Booker is 2 inches taller than Hield as Booker has grown to 6'7 over the past season.

I know people made of Vivek's Hield/Curry comparison but people who are laughing at that comparison should go check out NBA draft.net's Hield comparison.

I think Hield should be a decent player for yall.

If Hield can apply the style of play he did in college to the NBA game he might be Joergers best shot to win. Lets not forget, this isn't a raw 19 year old, he's physically ready, and had a good off the bounce game in college. The definite issue with moving Cousins is the lack of players with the ability to create their own shot and that's one thing Buddy's potential was based off of coming into the draft. Regardless, it makes no sense for any players not in the long term picture to take opportunities away from the ones that are. The Kings have spent enough years reviving or extending careers or developing players so other teams can eventually reap the benefits.

I'm really excited about Hield, I just really wish he was younger. I would be a lot more confident with his development if he were just two years younger or so.

I think he has the potential to be great on defense. He's tenacious, hard-working and has a great wingspan. Also seems like a smart guy and willing to learn.

I was pretty high on him during the draft, despite it being a fairly weak class. I'm glad we got him. It keeps the team semi-watchable, at least for me.

With that said, I find one thing hard to believe. If we were THAT enamored with him, could we really not figure out a way to trade up in the draft?

I may have read somewhere that we tried. I honestly don't remember. Regardless, it was very unlikely he would fall past the Pelicans.

If Vivek thought he was the next Steph Curry, how did we not figure out any way at all to trade up a few spots to grab him?

Cousins is gone for a guy we could have drafted with limited damage. Who knows what other kind of deals we could have gotten instead.

That's not to say the front office wouldn't have screwed up anyway in this alternate scenario.

Maybe it's just me but to me Malachi has more of an NBA game than Hield does. Maybe I am wrong but....!

Lol I see somebody's chosen their next victim. It's gonna be Kevin Martin all over again with you isn't it? Even if Hield becomes pretty good we won't stop hearing how slow and old and unathletic and weak he is.

Curry, McCollum, Reddick were all "old rookies", two of them struggled their rookie year. The common denominator between all thos guys is high character, professionalism and hard worker. By all indications Hield has that too. I feel safe in saying Hield will maximize whatever ceiling he has.

Good post. Being an old rookie that struggles isn't a kiss of death necessarily. Especially for a guard that relies on skill to get his. Going to take some time. Curry was nothing special til year four.