Kings coach has a decision to make. Is Buddy Hield ready to be an NBA starter?

One of the key questions facing the Kings as they begin a new season is whether Buddy Hield is ready to become a starter or still better suited for a backup role.

Hield, now entering his third NBA season, offered an honest answer when asked if he would prefer to start when the Kings play host to the Utah Jazz in Wednesday’s season opener at Golden 1 Center.

“Everybody loves to start,” Hield said. “I can’t tell you any basketball player who doesn’t dream to start. That’s the ultimate goal and the desire, but I’m just playing my role. Starting, sixth man, whatever – I just want to be on the court, helping my team.”

Then he paused.

“That’s the right answer,” Hield said. “But everybody wants to start and finish the basketball game.”

Kings coach Dave Joerger has a decision to make. He can start Hield at shooting guard with Justin Jackson at small forward. He can start Hield at small forward with Yogi Ferrell or Frank Mason III alongside De’Aaron Fox in the backcourt. Or he can bring Hield off the bench.

The lineup will likely change in a few weeks when Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to return from a knee procedure, giving the team another player who can log minutes at shooting guard and small forward.

So what will Joerger do?

“Nobody knows,” Hield said.

The coach isn’t telling.

“That’s on me to make a decision (based) on what I see,” he said.

Hield, 24, appeared in 80 games for the Kings last season, starting 13. Seven of those starts came over the two weeks of the season. In those games, he averaged 10.3 points, shooting 35.3 percent from the floor and 23.3 percent from 3-point range, well below his season average of 13.5 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting from the field and 43.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

He was ninth in the NBA in 3-point shooting last season, but he was 34th in attempts. Getting Hield more shots should be a point of emphasis this season, but he attempted just 3.8 3-pointers per game in six preseason contests, down from 5.1 in 2017-18.

Hield started five games this preseason with mixed results. He scored 16 points against the Los Angeles Lakers and 19 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, but he was held to six points against the Phoenix Suns, seven points against the Golden State Warriors and seven points against the Utah Jazz, combining to make just 9 of 35 field-goal attempts in those contests.

The only time he came off the bench was against Maccabi Haifa, a second-division professional team from Israel. He scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting.

Joerger might choose to start two point guards until Bogdanovic returns. Ferrell and Mason both played well in the preseason. Ferrell averaged a team-high 13.8 points per game, shooting 42.1 percent from 3-point range. Mason averaged 11.2 points and a team-high 5.7 assists, shooting 50 percent from the field and a sizzling 61.5 percent from long distance.

“Coming off the bench or starting doesn’t really matter,” Mason said. “The only thing I can do is be ready to play whenever my number is called. When you’re in there, you’ve just got to make the most of your minutes, give great effort and try to make the right plays.”

Ferrell said starters have a responsibility to make sure the team plays well in the opening minutes, something the Kings struggled with at times in the preseason.

“As a starter, you’ve got to make sure you start off the game really well,” he said. “If we’re able to start the game right and guys off the bench can see how the game is going and how (the opponent is) playing defensively, that sets the tone for the whole game. Whatever lineup coach has me in, I’m going to do my best to help the team win.”