Kings’ players react to altercation between guard Buddy Hield and coach Dave Joerger
Less than 48 hours after Kings coach Dave Joerger and guard Buddy Hield had a heated exchange late in Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, neither was made available to the media following Saturday’s morning walkthrough at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Hield sprinted off the court to a waiting car to make the 30-minute drive to Norman, Okla., for the second half of Oklahoma’s game against Texas. Oklahoma, Hield’s alma mater, defeated Texas 69-67 with Hield sitting courtside in a Sooners letterman jacket.
Joerger went through his normal shoot-around routine and planned to answer questions prior to Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team spokesman said.
Neither Joerger nor Hield has publicly addressed their altercation since Thursday’s game, but two other Kings players shared their perspectives following Saturday’s shoot-around.
“Buddy is a hell of a player and Coach Joerger is a hell of a coach,” Kings center Kosta Koufos said. “All of us get along. All of us do. We have one team, one goal, which is to make the playoffs. We fought hard against Golden State and that was the biggest thing. There’s a great relationship between all players and coaches, and right now our focus is the playoffs.”
Joerger got angry with Hield after he made a 32-foot 3-pointer to cut Golden State’s lead to three with 19 seconds to play. A league source, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the situation, told The Bee Joerger was upset because Hield’s shot was not the play he called from the sideline.
“Why don’t you just coach the f---ing team?” Joerger asked Hield, according to the source.
Warriors star Kevin Durant then got involved in the conversation, asking Hield: “What’s wrong with your coach? You made a great shot.”
Moments later, the Kings were trailing by two with six seconds remaining when Hield passed up the same shot he had made 13 seconds earlier, instead choosing to drive into the lane for a contested turn-around jumper that missed as time expired. Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard promptly weighed in on Twitter, saying Hield might have taken the shot “if his coach didn’t yell at him for MAKING the same shot.”
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox said he wasn’t sure if Hield hesitated to take the shot because of the altercation with Joerger.
“He definitely hesitated, but I didn’t see what happened, so I don’t know,” Fox said.
Fox said the momentary dispute between Joerger and Hield would not have a lasting impact on the Kings’ chemistry as they try to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
“We’re fine,” Fox said. “It doesn’t feel any different, does it? Everything’s fine. It’s a part of the game. It happens on every level.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 1:29 PM.
