How This Trade Impacts Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have been looking to trade Buddy Hield for a while now. He was involved in trade rumors last offseason and they didn’t stop this offseason, as he was almost traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
A deal got so close to being completed with the Lakers that Hield thought he was going to be wearing purple and gold for the 2021-22 campaign. But, Los Angeles pivoted to a deal with the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook instead.
Moving Hield, at this point, would likely be best for both sides. There has to be some awkwardness to it for Hield, who knows the team has tried trading him and got as close as they did this offseason. This deal with the Utah Jazz for Bojan Bogdanovic wouldn’t be a terrible swap for Sacramento.
This swap would help balance out the roster, giving Sacramento a legitimate power forward to turn to. It would enable Luke Walton to start Harrison Barnes, giving the Kings a solid starting five of De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Bogdanovic, Barnes, and Richaun Holmes. Marvin Bagley III could come off the bench in that scenario, which could yield better results going against second units.
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The Kings wouldn’t lose much when it comes to spacing, as Bogdanovic is a 3-point sniper as well. He has a little more diverse offensive game when it comes to scoring than Hield, but is an inferior playmaker.
Bogdanovic coming from Utah could provide Sacramento with better defense on the wing as well. His defensive rating was 107.3, nine points better than the 116.3 that Hield put up. But, both teams did improve with them off the court defensive, so neither is a great defender.
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Another positive for the Kings to this deal would be the long-term savings, as Bogdanovic has two years remaining on his deal while Hield has three. That would open up some much-needed cap space when their draft picks could be up for extensions.
