‘Reality check’: Kings coach Luke Walton’s tough-love relationship with Buddy Hield
Kings coach Luke Walton knows he’s been hard on Buddy Hield.
He expects a lot. He demands a lot. He pushes Hield to be better because the Kings have invested heavily in him and Walton knows the team will never reach its full potential unless Hield reaches his.
Walton and assistant coach Jesse Mermuys made that clear two weeks ago when they met with Hield after he aired his frustrations following a double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hield was upset after getting benched again in the fourth quarter, saying in his postgame interview that coaches weren’t showing enough trust in him. Walton and Mermuys made sure Hield understood what they needed from him when they got together for a candid conversation after Hield apologized for his remarks the next day.
“I talked to Luke and coach Jesse, and we just sat down and they gave me a reality check,” Hield said. “There’s stuff they need me to do and stuff I need to get better at — just challenging me — and Luke is a guy who always challenges me. Him and Jesse just bring the challenge and I accept it.”
These are moments that can make or break relationships in the NBA. Walton was willing to talk. Hield was willing to listen. They’ll both be better off because they were big enough to have a difficult discussion and leave the room with a deeper understanding of each other.
Hield established himself as an elite 3-point shooter last season, but Walton wants him to be more than that. On offense, he wants him to be a good decision maker and a better ball handler. On defense, he needs him to be able to stay in front of his man, a weakness opponents have exploited with alarming success.
Since that meeting, Hield has shown signs of progress at both ends of the floor. He looks more comfortable working out of double-teams and his defensive field-goal percentage is markedly improved, but Walton benched him again in the fourth quarter Tuesday as the Kings rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 114-103.
Hield will have another opportunity to play a complete game when the Kings (15-23) face the Milwaukee Bucks (33-6) on Friday at Golden 1 Center, but Walton won’t back down on his demands.
“We are hard on him, but we need him to be — and we believe he will be — more than just a scorer,” Walton said. “That means if we’re going to eventually get to the playoffs and eventually win playoff series and eventually try to win championships, we need him to be able to defend top-level (shooting) guards.
“We need him to be able to make plays. When he gets hot and defenses shift to him, we need him to be able to create for others, whether that’s back screens or passing out of double-teams. You’ve seen in the last week or so, every time he gets doubled down, it’s a quick pass to the big in that short roll area, and that’s major improvement. That’s winning basketball by him.”
‘Trust issues’
The Kings demonstrated their trust in Hield in October when they signed him to a four-year, $86 million deal after he went public with his contract demands. Hield lost sight of that when he found himself on the bench in the fourth quarter of games against the Houston Rockets and Timberwolves.
“Seems like we’re all over the place — coaches and everybody,” Hield said following the loss to Minnesota. “Trust issues going on, I guess. Guys stop believing in players. … I feel like I wasn’t trusted the past two games to be on the court.”
At the time, Hield was ensnared in the most prolonged shooting slump of his career, but decision making and defense have always been bigger issues. The following day, Hield stayed on the court long after practice with a group of player development coaches who crowded him every time he touched the ball. Hield was forced to get his shot off or pass out of double teams while coaches called out “good shot” or “bad shot.”
Hield shot 51.5 percent from 3-point range over the past four games after shooting 34 percent in December, largely due to improved shot selection. He’s pulling the trigger when he’s open and passing when he’s not, limiting the number of times he tries to dribble out of double-teams to fire up a heavily contested shot.
“I know what I bring to the table and I know how my (shooting) threat can get guys open,” Hield said. “So I’m just trying to make the right play and make the right read, and be more aggressive on defense and active and try to get steals and keep my man in front of me and try to get steals and get out and run.”
Make the right play. Make the right read. Take the right shots. Be more aggressive on defense. Be active. Get steals. Stay in front of your man. Get out in transition. Keep running. Keep shooting.
Anything else, coach?
“We’re asking a lot of Buddy,” Walton said. “We’re asking him to do a lot of all-around things and all he does is say ‘yes’ and keep working.”
Nowhere to hide
Walton likes to tell his players to “guard your yard.” Hield has a history of leaving the gate open.
Opponents are shooting 52.1 percent against Hield this season, according to nba.com/stats. He ranks 136th out of 158 players who have started at guard in the NBA this season.
When coaches and teammates talk about stopping straight-line drives — a phrase former coach Dave Joerger popularized in Sacramento last season — Hield is often the culprit.
“When you do that at this level, you just put so much pressure on the rest of your defense,” Walton said, speaking in general and not specifically about Hield. “If you let your man just go by you one-on-one, it’s tough to get any stops. … You have to be able to guard your man in this league.”
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox said that is something he and Hield both need to improve as they lead this team.
“We know we have to defend,” Fox said. “We know we have to defend at a high level to win in this league. All the playoff teams, all the better teams, are great defensive teams and it starts on the ball. You can talk about help all you want, but whoever’s on the ball has to do their job first, eliminate straight-line drives. That’s when your help defense can help you.”
Hield’s defensive field-goal percentage for December was 53.1, but something has happened since that meeting with Walton and Mermuys. Over the past five games, opponents are shooting just 43.7 percent against Hield, and that’s despite some difficult matchups with Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.
“We’re not going to hide him out there,” Walton said. “We’re going to keep giving him that challenge to grow as a defender. Where he gets in trouble is he gambles. We’ll say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to go under any screens on this shooter and sometimes he’ll have a mental lapse and go under, but I think he’s done a really nice job of accepting this challenge. We’re probably harder on Buddy than we are on anybody else on the team and he’s been great. He’s embraced the challenge.”
Kings upcoming schedule
Jan. 10 vs. Milwaukee, 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15 vs. Dallas Mavericks
Jan. 18 at Utah, 6 p.m.
Jan. 20 at Miami, 2 p.m.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
