Sacramento Kings Report Card: Buddy Hield
By Tyler Watts
OFFENSE: Grade- A-
I will be the first to admit that I thought the Kings got raked over the coals in the DeMarcus Cousins trade. Sacramento appeared foolish trading away a perennial All-Star for a first round pick and Buddy Hield who had not shown me much with the Pelicans. Hield changed my tune slightly in his 25 contests in a Kings uniform.
Traditional Stats
Buddy Love averaged 15.1 points, 2.4 three-pointers made, 1.8 assists, and 2.1 turnovers per game in his 29.1 minutes a night. His shooting percentages were outstanding for a guard at 48.0% from the field, 42.8% from three-point territory, and 81.4% from the foul line. He showed a diverse offensive game that would look great as a secondary or tertiary scorer on a contending club. Below is a highlight video so you can watch Hield work for yourself. Enjoy.
As you can see from the video, he looks a little more like Jamal Crawford than Chris Paul. I do not think Hield will ever be a big time passer or playmaker on offense. The thing he can do is create his own shot attempts, and the Kings need players like that. Plus, guys who can nails threes at a forty percent clip do not grow on trees.
Advanced Metrics
The advanced metrics approved of Hield’s offensive play with the Kings. (All advanced metrics courtesy of Basketball-Reference). He earned a positive 0.4 offensive win shares and a positive 0.8 offensive box score plus minus.
As I mentioned, Hield impressed me with his offensive play. I think the statistics justify an A- grade for Buddy Love’s offensive performance with the Kings, but maybe it was just that he far and away exceeded my expectations.