Going into the 2021 NBA Draft, it looked like Buddy Hield could be on his way to Hollywood. Ask former Los Angeles Lakers wing Kyle Kuzma, and the two might as well have had their bags packed.
Kuzma was convinced he was about to be traded to the Kings.
"I was kind of shocked, because I thought I was going to Sac," Kuzma said on "No Chill With Gilbert Arenas." "Like the Sacramento deal with Buddy Hield, that s--t was done. So I'm thinking in my head, like, 'OK, Sac, 45-minute flight. That's not bad. I can go to Napa.'
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"But then out of nowhere, you're going to Washington."
Hield still remains on the Kings, and Kuzma wound up being part of a big trade that sent him and others to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Russell Westbrook.
And Kuzma couldn't be happier.
NBA
"I was super hyped because it's a better situation," Kuzma said.
"Going to Sac would have been fun, I would have went crazy for sure. That's how I think. But to have an opportunity to play with Brad Beal -- it's someone that is really trying to be a winner in this league."
Kuzma, 26, averaged 12.6 points per game last season for the Lakers and shot 36.1 percent from 3-point range. He averaged 17.3 points per game his first two seasons in the NBA, but his numbers have dipped to 12.8 over the last two years.
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Hield, 28, averaged 16.6 points per game last season for the Kings after averaging 19.2 in 2019-20 and 20.7 in 2018-19. He still is a threat from beyond the arc, but his role is dwindling in Sacramento with the additions of Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell.
In the end, Hield's home still is in Sacramento. But it still isn't clear how long that will be the case.