5 People who turned their backs on the Sacramento Kings

2. Buddy Hield

A former lottery pick, Buddy Hield came to the Kings in the DeMarcus Cousins trade and spent six seasons in Sacramento. In the 2019-20 season, some trouble surfaced, however.

After being benched late in a double-overtime loss to the Timberwolves in late December, he accused his coaches and teammates of trust issues. Not long after that, Hield lost the starting shooting guard spot to Bogdan Bogdanovic. He played well as the team’s sixth man but believed he should be starting and was visibly frustrated with coach Luke Walton.

Reports surfaced that he wasn’t answering his coaches’ phone calls anymore. Besides that, he liked a post suggesting a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers and was reportedly unhappy with the money the Kings offered him in his contract extension. 

Frustrations piled up, and rumors surfaced among league insiders that Hield wanted to be traded. He never denied or confirmed the rumors and stayed in Sacramento until he was traded to the Pacers in the deal that moved Tyrese Halliburton and Domantas Sabonis. 

Just recently, he requested a trade from the Pacers, however, and landed with the 76ers.