By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
On Feb. 12, the Sacramento Kings beat the New Orleans Pelicans.
Pelicans shooting guard Buddy Buckets was ejected in the first half, for the very first time in his career, for elbowing Kings All Star DeMarcus Cousins in the groin.
Eight days later these two players were among the deals of a stunner of a trade between the two teams.
I’ve been a huge fan of Buddy since his Oklahoma days. How could you not be? Oklahoma’s always been a football school but for three years Buddy Hield made it a basketball school, and won every player trophy he could.
Then he got drafted by New Orleans.
A team called the Pelicans, with uniforms that look like a junior college team and were already busy squandering the immense talents of Kentucky legend Anthony Davis?
It’s hard to get excited about New Orleans.
Of course, it’s not like Sacramento was giving their own Kentucky legend the help he deserved. Since 2010, “Boogie” Cousins gave his heart and soul to the Kings without a single playoff appearance to attest to his efforts.
Boogie has boot scooted. His loss, of course, is a blow to the fanbase.
As Western Oregon alum and Sac-area native Declan Hertel said to me, “I haven’t followed Sacramento basketball in years, but even I knew that trade was b——t.”
But now Buddy Hield is a King.
Still breaking into the squad, Buddy hasn’t started a game yet. Six games off the bench have lead to a 13.2 points per game average out of 24.5 average minutes. These are both improvements on his time in New Orleans. His 16 points against the Denver Nuggets were the difference, as the Kings won 116-100.
His field goal percentage is .528, and he’s sinking .480 on his three-pointers.
Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive had his reasons for the trade. Like many before him, Ranadive has compared Hield to a young Steph Curry.
“Steph Curry, he’s a different animal,” Hield told Bleacher Report. “I’m Buddy Fresh. I’m Buddy Love. I’m just me. I’m just Buddy.”
If Buddy Buckets unlocks this potential in the NBA, he will explode. But for now, “just Buddy” is doing work.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
