What Happens If The Kings DON’T Reach An Agreement With Buddy Hield?

There has been a whirlwind of news surrounding Buddy Hield and the Sacramento Kings in the past week. But what happens if the two sides cannot agree on a deal?

With preseason play and training camp in full swing, the Sacramento Kings are focused on an upcoming season with high expectations. For Buddy Hield and the Kings’ front office, some of the focus is on the negotiations for a contract extension for the fourth-year shooting guard.

Throughout the past week, headlines and quotes about Hield’s extensions have been floating around in the media. On Thursday, Hield himself opened up to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee: “I want to make Sacramento my home,” Hield told Anderson. “I’m ready to get this s**t done. I want to be here and if it doesn’t happen, things can go the other way.”

The quote sounded like a harsh one, seemingly confirming the fact that Hield was frustrated with the process thus far. Minds were eased over the weekend however when video surfaced of Kings GM Vlade Divac and Hield engaging in playful conversation during a Kings’ practice, as well as a reassuring tweet from radio personality and Kings insider Carmichael Dave:

From most accounts, it seems as though the Kings and Hield are making progress on a deal that has to be made before the October 21st deadline for extensions.

But what happens if the Kings don’t extend Hield by the cutoff date?

Hield would play out the last year of his rookie contract before becoming a restricted free agent next summer, meaning that the Kings would have the right to match any offer that he receives on the open market.

This probably would not bode well with Sacramento. The 2020 free agent crop is awfully thin, which would make Hield one of the top targets heading in to the summer. There are not a lot of teams with huge portions of cap space, though one team that will have a boatload of money to spend is the Atlanta Hawks, who would love to pair young point guard Trae Young with a sharp-shooting backcourt running mate.

The offer sheet that the Kings would likely have to match would certainly be one that is higher than Hield’s current asking price, which is reported to be less than the max.

The (very thin) silver lining would be having Hield attempting to up his value in a contract season, a situation which often leads to players having career years in production. (Apparently, no one told that to Willie Cauley-Stein)

That said, the smart move would be to get a deal done as soon as possible. Hield is a big part of the Sacramento Kings rebuild, a key piece of a young and promising core group of players.