Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton benched Buddy Hield for Bogdan Bogdanovic on Friday, but it's not going to be a “permanent” thing.
The Kings defeated the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Hield scored 21 points off the bench:
“It's not a permanent thing,” Luke Walton said, via ESPN. “We'll see how this goes and move forward from this. It's about the team being ready to play and not being caught up in who's in the starting lineup or not.
“We don't win that game tonight without Buddy.”
The Kings are now 16-29 on the season. They are in 13th place in the Western Conference standings.
Buddy Hield signed a lucrative four-year, $86 million extension with the Kings before the season started, after previously speaking out about being at odds during contract negotiations. He’s averaging 20.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists on the season and shooting 41.9 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from beyond the arc and 82.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Hield’s tension with Walton isn’t a new development. He didn’t have the best relationship with his previous coach, Dave Joerger, either. Sacramento is hoping Hield and Luke Walton can get on the same page soon so they can continue a push towards the playoffs.
Dysfunction and the Kings seemingly go together. They have been a walking disaster for years, and they haven’t made the playoffs since 2006. Last season was a promising step back towards respectability, but they have a long way to go before becoming true contenders again.
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