The Kings Better Max Out Buddy Hield Because They Haven't Signed a Good Free Agent This Century

Buddy Hield wants more money. The Sacramento Kings want to give him more money, but not that much. Hield isn't even asking for a max deal. He reportedly just wants an extra $5 million a year over what the Kings have so far offered. With one year left on his rookie deal, this is going to hang over the franchise until it has resolved itself one way or another.

It seems insane that the Kings would hesitate to give Hield whatever he wants. He's a 20-point per game scorer and he does the most important thing in the modern NBA - shot 3's - at an elite level. Last season he hit 42.7% of his 651 three-point attempts. He was respectively 7th and 5th in the league in those categories. So he's worth the money. And then there's the fact that the Kings would never be able to sign a free agent of Hield's caliber. And he knows it. He's also letting the press know it, too.

If you want to try and take that challenge, the answer is Vlade Divac in 1998. That's the list. The only big free agent signing in Sacramento Kings history took place 21 years ago. There has been no one before or since. If you look up lists of the top free agents in Kings history, you'll find Divac at the top of all the lists, alongside Scott Pollard and Bobby Jackson. Maybe don't look at those lists. You will either end up laughing or depressed.

Which is how the Kings fans will be if they lose Buddy Hield and an opportunity to watch him grow alongside De'Aaron Fox. The Kings should cave to whatever demands Hield has and do it quickly. Otherwise, they're going to end up dealing with a trade demand. Best case scenario there is they get a draft pick that, if they're lucky, they turn into someone of Hield's caliber who ends up in the exact same situation looking for more money. They need to break the cycle now.