Buddy Hield: Kings have trust issues

[Livinthedream]

I guess we should be playing deadmon then instead of him earning his minutes

Pro athletes have earned their time in one way or another. It's a competitive money business. No one is given anything. Lottery picks worked hard to get to that point and earned the benefit of the doubt and time to show what they can do on the court. Free agents like Dedmon demonstrated a certain amount of success with a certain skillset that earned him a contract with the Kings. Holmes played hard and earned a starting spot. If anything athletes are always having to prove themselves way more than the average person.

When you're Buddy and you've proven to be one of the top players with a valuable skill, you've earned a longer leash.

 

[Sactown ExPat]

Well, the Kings were the best team in the league for about two-three years there, they just didn't manage to win a championship, once because the refs destroyed them, once because Webber's knee blew up. In a (now) 30-team league if you can be the best team in the league for something between about 1/17 and 1/12 of the time (by definition, league average is 1/30), you're probably doing pretty good, especially for a small-market team.

Here's a list of teams that haven't won a championship in the 35 years since the Kings moved to Sacramento:

76ers
Bucks
Clippers
Grizzlies (25 years)
Hawks
Hornets (v.2, 16 years)
Jazz
Kings
Knicks
Magic (31 years)
Nets
Nuggets
Pacers
Pelicans (+Hornets v.1, 32 years)
Suns
Thunder (+Sonics)
Timberwolves (31 years)
Trailblazers
Wizards (+Bullets)

Here's a list of teams that HAVE won a championship:

Lakers (8)
Bulls (6)
Spurs (5)
Heat (3)
Pistons (3)
Warriors (3)
Celtics (2)
Rockets (2)
Cavaliers (1)
Mavericks (1)
Raptors (1)

The list of "haves" is small, and the list of "have-a-lots" is quite small. The list of "have-nots" is big, and we're in it, along with 18 other franchises, 13 of whom have existed the entire time. Just 7 months ago, it could be said that fully 2/3 of the NBA had not won a championship since the Kings moved to Sacramento. It's not like we're the only team out there struggling to make our mark in the NBA. As bad as we've been, there are five teams (Clippers, Wizards/Bullets, Nets, Grizzlies, T'Wolves) who have a worse W/L% than us over that timeframe, three of which don't even have the small-market excuse.

Bottom line, if you're putting in the effort to be a fan of a small-market team in the NBA hoping for a "payoff", you've picked the wrong team in the wrong sport.

Thanks for this breakdown—excellent perspective.

 

[gilly420]

He missed the potential game winning shot and then went to the outside media to ***** about Walton?

That is weak.

 

[King Baller]

I heard on the radio yesterday afternoon that in practice the Coaches were working with Buddy on passing out of heavy defensive pressure. The thing is the other teams best wing defender is often on Buddy now and double teams/traps are common as well.

It is up to Buddy and the coaching staff to get Buddy open looks in spite of the heavy defensive pressure. And more importantly he needs to pass when the open look is not there or even better become crafty at drawing fouls.

In the end it is a team game and Buddy needs to rely on his team mates to make the game easier.

 

[hrdboild]

I can't say I'm surprised, although we got here quicker than I expected. For three and a half seasons Buddy has been one of the elite shooters in the league. He didn't forget how to shoot. The decision has been made to go with an offensive philosophy which emphasizes individual players reading and reacting to the defense. That means the shots go to whoever is open at any given moment and the pressure is on the players to make those reads and create the open looks. Luke's offensive system treats Corey Joseph the same as Buddy Hield. That's great for guys like Corey and Richaun because it means they have a chance to prove themselves but it 's not great for guys like Hield and Barnes who are used to a structured offense that emphasizes getting the ball to proven scorers in the spots on the court where they're most effective.

So that's half the problem. Obviously Buddy wants to score points, he's always been a high confidence guy. He wants to prove that he's an All-Star but in this offense that's led to him forcing a lot of low percentage shots. He's also not particularly adept at creating looks for other players so putting more pressure on him to create is a problem as well. Even if the offense treats players equally, the defense isn't going to guard Corey Joseph as closely as they guard Buddy Hield so that means he's asked to create against increased defensive pressure in addition to trying to get himself open. It's a system that really only benefits either a specific type of star player or a team of equals where nobody is exceptional in any one area but collectively they can become greater than the sum of their parts by moving the ball and attacking from all angles.

I knew that a bunch of you were waiting to strike up the "trade him" chorus as soon as he signed that contract. It's always the same thing in Sacramento: rookies and role players can do no wrong but any whiff of a veteran not earning their enormous pro athlete pay check every second they're on the floor and people lock in on them as the source of all our problems. Dedmon has been frozen out despite being acquired with a starting role in mind, Giles may as well already be gone, Buddy gets benched in the fourth quarter.. you can't make moves like this and expect to have a healthy locker room. Lack of trust from the coaches leads to players freelancing to earn their minutes back and now you have players who don't trust each other either. Clearly Buddy is frustrated. If that's enough reason for some of you to kick him to the curb I wonder if you have the same attitude in your personal relationships. If we can't find a way to resolve the underlying cause of that frustration than this team is going to continue to be a revolving door of players and coaches putting in time but never accomplishing anything. Bad organizations look around for someone to blame when problems come up, good organizations just look for solutions.

 

[KestrelKing]

To also be fair, the former has earned disappointment far, far more than the latter. Many KINGS fans, myself included, have been patient for 35 seasons. Where’s the payoff? Where’s the reward? Instead, it’s always same $#/+ different season.

I can relate. Never has my support wavered for my team. Through the worst of it since I was a sophomore in HS (I’m 51 now), I have never felt the way I do now. I feel like I’m checking out. I just don’t have the energy to invest in what seems like endless hopelessness. I hate to say it but I think it goes back to what I think will seen as one of the worst draft blunders in NBA history.

 

[Elektrik]

Buddy Hield needs to STFU and quit acting like he's being held back by the team, the coaches, etc. The only thing holding Buddy back is Buddy. He's not reliable, despite us signing him to a very sweet deal to primarily do one thing - shoot. Yeah, he can shoot but apparently we didn't make it clear that we expect him to actually SINK the shots. Last night I had absolutely no faith that he could hit a shot at a key juncture - much the way I felt when Quincy Douby was still here.

At this point, Buddy needs to be able to modify his game, to find a way to be valuable if his shots aren't falling. Thus far, it doesn't seem to me that he's really open to doing that. Instead of talking about improving his defense, for example, he goes with the "Yeah, but everybody else is getting scored on, too..."

I am not impressed.

Ouch! Quincy Douby...that’s a low blow. Lol

 

[Livinthedream]

I can't say I'm surprised, although we got here quicker than I expected. For three and a half seasons Buddy has been one of the elite shooters in the league. He didn't forget how to shoot. The decision has been made to go with an offensive philosophy which emphasizes individual players reading and reacting to the defense. That means the shots go to whoever is open at any given moment and the pressure is on the players to make those reads and create the open looks. Luke's offensive system treats Corey Joseph the same as Buddy Hield. That's great for guys like Corey and Richaun because it means they have a chance to prove themselves but it 's not great for guys like Hield and Barnes who are used to a structured offense that emphasizes getting the ball to proven scorers in the spots on the court where they're most effective.

So that's half the problem. Obviously Buddy wants to score points, he's always been a high confidence guy. He wants to prove that he's an All-Star but in this offense that's led to him forcing a lot of low percentage shots. He's also not particularly adept at creating looks for other players so putting more pressure on him to create is a problem as well. Even if the offense treats players equally, the defense isn't going to guard Corey Joseph as closely as they guard Buddy Hield so that means he's asked to create against increased defensive pressure in addition to trying to get himself open. It's a system that really only benefits either a specific type of star player or a team of equals where nobody is exceptional in any one area but collectively they can become greater than the sum of their parts by moving the ball and attacking from all angles.

I knew that a bunch of you were waiting to strike up the "trade him" chorus as soon as he signed that contract. It's always the same thing in Sacramento: rookies and role players can do no wrong but any whiff of a veteran not earning their enormous pro athlete pay check every second they're on the floor and people lock in on them as the source of all our problems. Dedmon has been frozen out despite being acquired with a starting role in mind, Giles may as well already be gone, Buddy gets benched in the fourth quarter.. you can't make moves like this and expect to have a healthy locker room. Lack of trust from the coaches leads to players freelancing to earn their minutes back and now you have players who don't trust each other either. Clearly Buddy is frustrated. If that's enough reason for some of you to kick him to the curb I wonder if you have the same attitude in your personal relationships. If we can't find a way to resolve the underlying cause of that frustration than this team is going to continue to be a revolving door of players and coaches putting in time but never accomplishing anything. Bad organizations look around for someone to blame when problems come up, good organizations just look for solutions.

This post is spot on. Thank you to you and @SacTownKid for actually watching the game to understand the stats, not watching the stats to judge the game.

For those who point out that the offense runs smoother with Buddy out, this post tells you why. Buddy is the focal point of the defense and he gets swarmed. Yes, he should pass out of the triple team to Joseph, Ariza, Holmes at the top of the key, but that us exactly what the defense is trying to accomplish. A big game for Buddy is 40+. A big game for any of those other guys is 20. Buddy is the threat. When Buddy is out, the defense goes back to regular man to man coverage and things look less hectic.

This offense minimizes our teams strength and elevates role players.

 

[ESP47]

Well, the Kings were the best team in the league for about two-three years there, they just didn't manage to win a championship, once because the refs destroyed them, once because Webber's knee blew up. In a (now) 30-team league if you can be the best team in the league for something between about 1/17 and 1/12 of the time (by definition, league average is 1/30), you're probably doing pretty good, especially for a small-market team.

Here's a list of teams that haven't won a championship in the 35 years since the Kings moved to Sacramento:

76ers
Bucks
Clippers
Grizzlies (25 years)
Hawks
Hornets (v.2, 16 years)
Jazz
Kings
Knicks
Magic (31 years)
Nets
Nuggets
Pacers
Pelicans (+Hornets v.1, 32 years)
Suns
Thunder (+Sonics)
Timberwolves (31 years)
Trailblazers
Wizards (+Bullets)

Here's a list of teams that HAVE won a championship:

Lakers (8)
Bulls (6)
Spurs (5)
Heat (3)
Pistons (3)
Warriors (3)
Celtics (2)
Rockets (2)
Cavaliers (1)
Mavericks (1)
Raptors (1)

The list of "haves" is small, and the list of "have-a-lots" is quite small. The list of "have-nots" is big, and we're in it, along with 18 other franchises, 13 of whom have existed the entire time. Just 7 months ago, it could be said that fully 2/3 of the NBA had not won a championship since the Kings moved to Sacramento. It's not like we're the only team out there struggling to make our mark in the NBA. As bad as we've been, there are five teams (Clippers, Wizards/Bullets, Nets, Grizzlies, T'Wolves) who have a worse W/L% than us over that timeframe, three of which don't even have the small-market excuse.

Bottom line, if you're putting in the effort to be a fan of a small-market team in the NBA hoping for a "payoff", you've picked the wrong team in the wrong sport.

The argument from the fan base has almost never been about bringing championships to Sacramento. It's about getting to the damn playoffs.

Longest NBA playoff droughts:

13 years Kings
9 years Suns
6 years Knicks

That right there is what the gripe is about. Not championship rings.

 

[ockingsfan]

I heard on the radio yesterday afternoon that in practice the Coaches were working with Buddy on passing out of heavy defensive pressure. The thing is the other teams best wing defender is often on Buddy now and double teams/traps are common as well.

It is up to Buddy and the coaching staff to get Buddy open looks in spite of the heavy defensive pressure. And more importantly he needs to pass when the open look is not there or even better become crafty at drawing fouls.

In the end it is a team game and Buddy needs to rely on his team mates to make the game easier.

The number 1 mistake is that Buddy is handling the ball too much this year. Teams know that if they pressure Buddy with the ball in his hands, he's likely to turn it over.

That is why Buddy was more efficient when he played the prior 2 seasons, because he was primarily a catch and shoot threat last few years. This year he is trying to handle the ball too much and teams are trapping him, forcing him to make bad decisions with the ball.

He needs to move and cut without the ball to get open or get behind screens for an open look.

 

[steelevt]

Some of you have a pretty strange definition of patience. Whining, complaining, wanting to fire EVERYONE, wanting to trade our stars after a set back, arguing, bickering and insulting aren’t signs of being patient. Yes, you haven’t left the team for another team. That makes you a fan and not a front runner, but all of us are fans here. But there’s a big difference between being patient and just not quitting on the team. I’m not telling any of you how to be a fan. You can critique, complain, praise and discuss all you want. This is what this board is about. I’ve done all of the above. I’ve learned there are plenty of lows to go with the few highs with this team and just try to enjoy the little things with the hope of one day we will all get there. Some have waited way longer than me, some patiently, many not so patiently. If you’ve waited this long, maybe give buddy a chance to get out if the slump, let fox and Bagley heal, let luke coach a full season, see what Vlade has built play together for some time before we all ask to blow it up because that doesn’t resemble me definition of patience if we are wanting to dismantle what seems to be our best team in awhile.

 

[kb02]

I can't say I'm surprised, although we got here quicker than I expected. For three and a half seasons Buddy has been one of the elite shooters in the league. He didn't forget how to shoot. The decision has been made to go with an offensive philosophy which emphasizes individual players reading and reacting to the defense. That means the shots go to whoever is open at any given moment and the pressure is on the players to make those reads and create the open looks. Luke's offensive system treats Corey Joseph the same as Buddy Hield. That's great for guys like Corey and Richaun because it means they have a chance to prove themselves but it 's not great for guys like Hield and Barnes who are used to a structured offense that emphasizes getting the ball to proven scorers in the spots on the court where they're most effective.

So that's half the problem. Obviously Buddy wants to score points, he's always been a high confidence guy. He wants to prove that he's an All-Star but in this offense that's led to him forcing a lot of low percentage shots. He's also not particularly adept at creating looks for other players so putting more pressure on him to create is a problem as well. Even if the offense treats players equally, the defense isn't going to guard Corey Joseph as closely as they guard Buddy Hield so that means he's asked to create against increased defensive pressure in addition to trying to get himself open. It's a system that really only benefits either a specific type of star player or a team of equals where nobody is exceptional in any one area but collectively they can become greater than the sum of their parts by moving the ball and attacking from all angles.

I knew that a bunch of you were waiting to strike up the "trade him" chorus as soon as he signed that contract. It's always the same thing in Sacramento: rookies and role players can do no wrong but any whiff of a veteran not earning their enormous pro athlete pay check every second they're on the floor and people lock in on them as the source of all our problems. Dedmon has been frozen out despite being acquired with a starting role in mind, Giles may as well already be gone, Buddy gets benched in the fourth quarter.. you can't make moves like this and expect to have a healthy locker room. Lack of trust from the coaches leads to players freelancing to earn their minutes back and now you have players who don't trust each other either. Clearly Buddy is frustrated. If that's enough reason for some of you to kick him to the curb I wonder if you have the same attitude in your personal relationships. If we can't find a way to resolve the underlying cause of that frustration than this team is going to continue to be a revolving door of players and coaches putting in time but never accomplishing anything. Bad organizations look around for someone to blame when problems come up, good organizations just look for solutions.

I agree with most of this, but it doesn’t account for:

1. Buddy going public with his contract demands;
2. Buddy slighting Sacramento;
3. Buddy blaming a lack of open shots on his teammates;
4. Buddy blaming the coaches for a lack of faith.

5. Buddy’s going to blame the fans next.


There is nothing that he has said that indicates there will be any development. A player with decent hoops IQ and the right mindset would’ve:

1. Never gone public;
2. Never diss the city that he represents—if only for selfish long term business reasons only.
3. Instead of blaming a lack of open shots, focus on a need to contribute on defense, as a facilitator, movement off the ball...
4. Be smart enough to know that he got his ass benched because of four straight games of poor play. Not because the coaches are out to get him.

Trade him. Dude is going off the rails.

 

[fansinceday1]

I can relate. Never has my support wavered for my team. Through the worst of it since I was a sophomore in HS (I’m 51 now), I have never felt the way I do now. I feel like I’m checking out. I just don’t have the energy to invest in what seems like endless hopelessness. I hate to say it but I think it goes back to what I think will seen as one of the worst draft blunders in NBA history.

Im right there with you. I'm 47. I've completely checked out. It bothers me that I feel the way i do. I haven't bailed on any other team. A's, 49ers, or the sac republic. I love my sports but the kings have turned into such a life suck that at my age I feel like its just a complete waste of time. The Luka ordeal was def the last straw for me. Then to watch that young man just ball out for Mark Cuban, it was the last straw.

 

[Albatros]

I heard on the radio yesterday afternoon that in practice the Coaches were working with Buddy on passing out of heavy defensive pressure. The thing is the other teams best wing defender is often on Buddy now and double teams/traps are common as well.

It is up to Buddy and the coaching staff to get Buddy open looks in spite of the heavy defensive pressure. And more importantly he needs to pass when the open look is not there or even better become crafty at drawing fouls.

In the end it is a team game and Buddy needs to rely on his team mates to make the game easier.

He's a team first guy. So that shouldn't be a problem huh.

 

[ppine]

He has gone from designated scorer to mediocre.
Give him a vacation and a mental tune up.
Then he needs to stop whining and own up to his crummy play. He is pouting like a child.

 

[Joshoua]

Not the first time Buddy has acted like this. He’s really going to get himself a one way ticket out of here, which is fine with me. There’s one thing I don’t tolerate and it’s stuff like this. You’re not Lebron or Kobe or Jordan that the team can put up with this kind of behavior. Vlade traded away a way better player than Buddy because of stuff like this.

I want buddy out of here that attitude is terrible let alone him being a mediocre player, get him the **** out

 

[jellyfish]

I can't say I'm surprised, although we got here quicker than I expected. For three and a half seasons Buddy has been one of the elite shooters in the league. He didn't forget how to shoot. The decision has been made to go with an offensive philosophy which emphasizes individual players reading and reacting to the defense. That means the shots go to whoever is open at any given moment and the pressure is on the players to make those reads and create the open looks. Luke's offensive system treats Corey Joseph the same as Buddy Hield. That's great for guys like Corey and Richaun because it means they have a chance to prove themselves but it 's not great for guys like Hield and Barnes who are used to a structured offense that emphasizes getting the ball to proven scorers in the spots on the court where they're most effective.

So that's half the problem. Obviously Buddy wants to score points, he's always been a high confidence guy. He wants to prove that he's an All-Star but in this offense that's led to him forcing a lot of low percentage shots. He's also not particularly adept at creating looks for other players so putting more pressure on him to create is a problem as well. Even if the offense treats players equally, the defense isn't going to guard Corey Joseph as closely as they guard Buddy Hield so that means he's asked to create against increased defensive pressure in addition to trying to get himself open. It's a system that really only benefits either a specific type of star player or a team of equals where nobody is exceptional in any one area but collectively they can become greater than the sum of their parts by moving the ball and attacking from all angles.

I knew that a bunch of you were waiting to strike up the "trade him" chorus as soon as he signed that contract. It's always the same thing in Sacramento: rookies and role players can do no wrong but any whiff of a veteran not earning their enormous pro athlete pay check every second they're on the floor and people lock in on them as the source of all our problems. Dedmon has been frozen out despite being acquired with a starting role in mind, Giles may as well already be gone, Buddy gets benched in the fourth quarter.. you can't make moves like this and expect to have a healthy locker room. Lack of trust from the coaches leads to players freelancing to earn their minutes back and now you have players who don't trust each other either. Clearly Buddy is frustrated. If that's enough reason for some of you to kick him to the curb I wonder if you have the same attitude in your personal relationships. If we can't find a way to resolve the underlying cause of that frustration than this team is going to continue to be a revolving door of players and coaches putting in time but never accomplishing anything. Bad organizations look around for someone to blame when problems come up, good organizations just look for solutions.

Is not the whole of basketball for the most part read and react with some structure sprinkled in? I'm not really buying this since he gets a ton of looks in a structured way when Bjelica in particular gets it in the post and Holmes/Dedmon/Bagley sets screens for him at the 3point line and he's open everytime.

Than again you might be right since this type of offense your talking about might require higher IQ/knowing your role hence why Bjelica/Holmes are the only one's benefiting from it, but than we come to the same conclusion as in the past where the Kings have to many dumb players.

 

[BLNINJA #81]

I didn't want to jump to any conclusions concerning this issue, so I searched the good ol' net to find the interview. I watched it and had made up my mind about him right at the point he was asked about playing defense and doing other things to help the team while slumping... his response?? "everyone gets scored on"

LOL! At that point in my mind, I'm like, time for a trade!

 

[NewArena]

Good to know that he apologized. I had no idea

I’ll go easier on him for now

 

[Joshoua]

Good to know that he apologized. I had no idea

I’ll go easier on him for now

What he said is what he meant this isn’t an isolated incident