The Sacramento Kings were expected by some to be a sleeper team in the Western Conference this season. Instead, they are a struggling, injury-riddled mess, and now, one of their best players is unhappy.
Following the Kings' double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night, Buddy Hield lashed out at the coaching staff, saying that there are “trust issues” and that “guys stop believing in players.”
Hield was benched by head coach Luke Walton for most of the fourth quarter and the extra sessions due to his shoddy defense (which was never one of his strong suits) and shaky jumper, as he went just 6-for-20 from the field and 3-of-11 from three-point range in the loss.
It was the latest benching in what has become a relatively disturbing trend for Hield, who had played under 30 minutes in three of the preceding four games.
And it's not like Walton is doing this for no reason. Hield has been laboring, making a paltry 25.6 percent of his field-goal attempts over the last five games, all Kings losses.
This is not exactly what you want to see from a guy you just signed to a massive contract extension.
To be fair, Hield's numbers for the season are solid, as he is averaging 20.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and two assists over 34 minutes per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the floor, 35.5 percent from long distance and 83.9 percent from the free-throw line.
However, this is also no doubt that Hield's efficiency has dipped considerably from a year ago when he made 45.8 percent of his shots and 42.7 percent of his triples.
It should be noted that Hield has spent much of the season as sort of a lone ranger in Sacramento, as both De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley have missed significant chunks of time. On top of that, Fox and Bagley each exited the loss to the Timberwolves with respective injuries, so those two could be on the shelf yet again.
But Hield was paid like a star, so he has to play like one.
While it's valid to question Walton's coaching, as things did not exactly work out for him in Los Angeles, it's equally fair to criticize Hield's performance.
If Hield isn't shooting the ball well, his effectiveness plummets, as he is not someone who affects the game in a variety of different ways (like Fox).
The 27-year-old is largely dependent on his treys falling for him to be at his best, so when that isn't happening, his usefulness decreases, and his frustration grows in the process.
Hield's frustration is understandable. This was supposed to be the year where he and the Kings took the next step, but instead, they have gone backward.
Sacramento is still very much alive in the Western Conference playoff picture due to the ineptitude of the bottom half of the conference, but at 12-19, that is a hollow victory.
Again, the Kings have had a ton of injuries, so they do have an excuse as a team, but Hield doesn't really have an excuse as an individual.
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