Franchise SG: Richardson or Hield?

Who will be the Kings' franchise SG?


  • Total voters
    40
#1
We have two very different and young SGs on the roster. Who's the franchise SG? I thought it would be really interesting to look at both of them, and Richardson has been the forgotten young guy on our team.

Malachi Richardson was looking very promising before his hamstring injury. Here's his stats this year:
22 games (9minutes): 3.6points, 1.0reb, 0.5ast, and 0.4to.
41.2% FG, 28.6% 3pt, 78.9% FT​
DLeague (11 games): 21pts, 4.3rebs, 1.5asts, 0.9stl, 3.5tos
42.9% FG, 44% 3pt, 76.3% FT
Richardson is an extremely different type of SG than Hield.
Malachi is a lanky shot creating PG. He has average athleticism and good quickness. He's a comfortable ball handler with an array of escape dribbles. He creates his shots with ball fakes, head fakes, step backs, and more. He uses his quickness and dribbling to create space on every single shot. Richardson's offense mostly comes from the mid-range. He faces up his defender, then makes a move to free himself up for a shot. On top of being a shot creator, Richardson does a very good job using his quick first-step to get to the rim. He's not a great finisher, but he does a very good job in being aggressive and drawing fouls. As an off-ball player, Richardson is much less effective. He moves ok without the ball, and does good ability for catch and shoot 3s. He's more comfortable with creating his own space and using screens. As a 3pt shooter, he seems to be solid. He's a good shooter in general. His facilitating and passing are below average. He's not a very good passer and doesn't have any playmaking instincts. As a defender, he has good size for the position. 6'6 with a 7ft wingspan. His average lateral quickness will help him a lot on that end. He'll need to gain more defensive awareness.


Here's Buddy's stats this year, from first with the Pelicans, then with the Kings:
57 games(20.4mins): 8.6pts, 2.9rebs, 1.4asts, 0.3stl, 0.8tos
39.3% FG, 36.9% 3PT, 87.9% FT​
25 games(29.1mins): 15.1pts, 4.2rebs, 1.8asts, 0.8stl, 2.1tos
48% FG, 42.8% 3PT, 81.4% FT​

Hield is a perimeter SG who excels behind the arc. He's an average athlete with solid quickness. Hield's game is more 3pt oriented, and he's really comfortable as an off-ball player. He has good cuts to the basket, and tries to use screens to free himself up. As a ball handler, he's average. He does a good job freeing himself up when he has the ball at the 3pt line with screens and some head fakes. He'll either try to attack all the way, or stop and shoot the mid-range. He has a very nice lean in mid-range shot that somehow falls in almost every time. His ball handling can get very loose at times, leaving him prone to TOs. His average ball handling mixed in with only solid quickness does bring up some problems for Buddy, specifically for when he attacks. He has a bit of a difficult time getting to the rim against quicker players. However, when he does get to the rim, he's a very good finisher. As a passer and facilitator, he's average. He keeps his head up and does look to make the easy pass. As a defender, he has average size for the position at 6'5 with a 6'9 wingspan. However, his lateral quickness is only average, or maybe even slightly below. He'll need to compensate his average footspeed with his wingspan and defensive awareness. misc: Hield is about 2 years older than Malachi.

In Short: The Kings have two very talented rookie SGs. Both of these guys are very different types of SGs, and score in their own ways. Yeah there's a possibility of Malachi bulking up and playing SF, but he's a natural SG. In the end, who do you think will become the Kings' franchise SG?
 
#2
I'd take Hield of Dreams. He really has a nice trifecta of moves now that he has his 3 point average up. The three pointer when open, the lean in when the defender plays up on him and he can't get to the basket and the slash to the hole as you mentioned. Simple basketball that results in higher percentage shots. I also think he flows naturally within the offense and will serve as a nice number 2 or 3 option on a winning squad. If he can continue to get to the basket and draw fouls you are looking at 18 points a game by next year. He needs a lot of work as a passer but I just think he is a better fit for the longer term.
 
#3
Luckily there is room for multiple guards on a team. I like both of these players they each bring something unique to the team so they're not redundant. So in short both and we'll see if Bogdan can play and where he fits in.
 
#4
Nice problem to have. We can't really pick because of Malachi's injury. Judging from what we have seen Hield looks legit. Malachi looked good to but in very limited minutes.
 
#6
I'd take Hield of Dreams. He really has a nice trifecta of moves now that he has his 3 point average up. The three pointer when open, the lean in when the defender plays up on him and he can't get to the basket and the slash to the hole as you mentioned. Simple basketball that results in higher percentage shots. I also think he flows naturally within the offense and will serve as a nice number 2 or 3 option on a winning squad. If he can continue to get to the basket and draw fouls you are looking at 18 points a game by next year. He needs a lot of work as a passer but I just think he is a better fit for the longer term.
With Hield, I can see him becoming a very good #2 option in the NBA. He's a great shooter with high IQ. If he can keep improving on his handles, I think he'll surpass any type of JJ Reddick comparisons.

On the other hand, something about the way Richardson plays makes me think he can be a superstar in the league. One of the best shot creators I've seen coming out of college. He was streak, but his jabs and footwork were really advanced.
 
#9
Like I've said since Buddy's first game with the kings, he is legit. He's has an ultra smooth and super quick release on his shot. He is going to be a 20ppg scorer in this league, and I think he can approach 18-20 ppg next year. He is also a solid rebounder for a SG, he just needs to tighten up his handles.

As for malichi, he is going to find playing time between shooting guard and small forward. He will be a solid rotation player for a long time. If he can add some strength, he may be able to eventually start at small forward.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#11
I accidentally voted Richardson. Is there a way to change it? I wanted to vote Hield.
No, there isn't. But take solace in the fact that the Butterfly Effect from your accidental click (causing you to request a change, causing me to write this post, causing a poster to read this and leave the house 25 seconds later than otherwise, causing them to avoid being in a fatal traffic accident, allowing them to later discover a scientific principle upon which a future human utopia is based) will be totally worth the poll answer being wrong.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#12
No, there isn't. But take solace in the fact that the Butterfly Effect from your accidental click (causing you to request a change, causing me to write this post, causing a poster to read this and leave the house 25 seconds later than otherwise, causing them to avoid being in a fatal traffic accident, allowing them to later discover a scientific principle upon which a future human utopia is based) will be totally worth the poll answer being wrong.
I need a drink!! I can't wait till summer league.
 
#14
I picked too soon to tell. We simply didn't get to see enough of Malachi. I do think they can make an interesting 1-2 punch at SG though. They both Bring a lot of the same type of skills to the table, but do it in very different ways. I think guys who match up well with Hield may have problems with Richardson (and vise versa). I will enjoy watching it play out. Of course, if Bogdanovic comes over, it starts a whole other discussion.
 

Entity

Hall of Famer
#18
Malachi measured out at 6'6.25" in shoes at the NBA combine. I wasn't aware that SFs needed to be 6'10" now.
Just the good ones I guess KD, Lebron, Giannis, and George all 6'9 +. I guess it is possible. pretty good list of players that have grown 2 or more inches since draft. Our own Donte Greene got up to 6'11.
 
#19
If we have a franchise SG right now, the closest would be Temple. Hield has played the most and shown the most but it's way, way to early to tell if any or who. But I agree with bajaden a chicken dinner sounds pretty good right now, if someone will catch the chicken for me.
 
#20
If we have a franchise SG right now, the closest would be Temple. Hield has played the most and shown the most but it's way, way to early to tell if any or who. But I agree with bajaden a chicken dinner sounds pretty good right now, if someone will catch the chicken for me.
I know that you and Bajaden aren't young anymore, but they have these places called grocery stores now. They have already caught the chicken you. They have even killed it, plucked it, and cut it up if you want that way.:p
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#21
I know that you and Bajaden aren't young anymore, but they have these places called grocery stores now. They have already caught the chicken you. They have even killed it, plucked it, and cut it up if you want that way.:p
It's all about the hunt, or in the chickens case, the catch. I mean why go fishing, when you can go to Vegas for the week-end and then buy fish at the fish market on your way home. That's like cheating at solitaire. Of course the fish doesn't care, so I guess it's OK.
 
#22
It's all about the hunt, or in the chickens case, the catch. I mean why go fishing, when you can go to Vegas for the week-end and then buy fish at the fish market on your way home. That's like cheating at solitaire. Of course the fish doesn't care, so I guess it's OK.
I think you'll have better luck fishing at this point than trying to catch a chicken. Much harder to drink a beer while chasing a chicken.
 
#24
"Don't forget about Bog-Dan Bog-Dan-O-Vic whom I'm convinced his coming over next season. That's another lottery pick right there" - Grant Napear on every show since last July

Buddy Hield is the answer.

I think Bogdanovic will be a top reserve, probably take over the Garrett Temple role of being an extra ball handler, add some scoring punch. His game is further along than Malachi's and his ball handling and playmaking ability will give him the edge. If he shoots well, Malachi better start showing he can play at the 3..he does have the length but not the strength. I'd like to see a lot of both Malachi and Bogdan but Garrett Temple complicates that...and I'd imagine Buddy Hield will have to really stink up training camp to not be the starter
 
#25
All sense has to point to the fact that Hield must be the one (if we had to pick between the two). He was the centerpiece of the cousins trade so for him to be anything short of our franchise SG would be a failure.

That being said, the glory with rookies is you can mold them until a certain point. There is no reason why Richardson cant be a 6th man type impact player for us, leveraging his ability to create shots and if he takes the battle to Hield for the starting role then all well and good.

The glory of youth is good and joerger is more then apt at making the most of it.
 
#26
Franchise SG: Hield, Richardson or Bogdanovic? Which two do we keep? Have to keep Temple. Roster spot for Evans, Afflalo, McLemore? Can't see it. Trade one of the top three? Likely but maybe not right away. I guess the order of things is: is Gay staying or not, learn our draft spots, draft day trade, draft pick or picks, who we re-sign and who we let go, FAs we sign, trades to improve or balance out roster, camp, play ball. Which of us would like to be the decider? Vlade gets the job. Good man. Good luck.