Where do the Kings go now that the bubble has burst? Changes should be coming

The Sacramento Kings’ playoff drought officially hit 14 years on Sunday. The road to the playoffs was always going to be tough with so many other teams in the hunt, but the Kings were supposed to be extra motivated. It’s one thing for them to have failed and entirely another with how they did it.

In Sacramento’s six games so far in the NBA bubble, they’ve managed to look thoroughly overmatched. Their one win came against a disappointing New Orleans Pelicans team in a game that featured little defense on either side. They followed that performance up with a lackluster effort against a Nets squad that was missing almost half its roster to injury. No other team should have wanted to win more and no other team managed to fall as flat.

So where do the Kings go from here now that the bubble is burst? Sacramento will leave Orlando with more questions than answers.

What has happened to Buddy Hield? One year removed from looking like a future star, Hield signed a big contract extension last summer only to seemingly regress under new coach Luke Walton.

Where Dave Joerger used Hield as more of a shooter and transition threat, Walton opted to give Hield more ballhandling and playmaking responsibility. Hield’s efficiency plummeted with that extra responsibility and while his assists did go up, so did his turnovers. He managed to return to form for a few weeks before the NBA’s stoppage thanks to Walton’s decision to move him to the bench, but since the league’s resumption he has all but disappeared.

In the team’s first six games, Hield is shooting an abysmal 35.9% from the field and averaging 2.2 turnovers to just 1.8 assists. He’s also playing only 21.1 minutes a game as Walton has leaned more on Cory Joseph and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Hield’s $94 million contract extension doesn’t kick in until next season and he’s already failing to live up to expectations.

The Kings will have to make a decision this offseason on how much money to spend on Bogdan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic has clearly outplayed Hield in the bubble but has had his own share of inconsistencies and disappointments (most notably a 1-for-15 shooting performance against Dallas). Bogdanovic is a restricted free agent this summer, but with the Kings already having tied up so much money in Hield, how willing would they be to match a big contract offer from another team? And would losing Bogdanovic for nothing hurt even more?

De’Aaron Fox’s play has been perhaps the one bright spot of the Orlando games for the Kings. Fox has been more aggressive in looking for his own offense and is averaging 26.2 points on 50.4% shooting from the field. It’s likely that the Kings will offer him a maximum contract extension this summer, but will the Kings manage to get him help in that time? Is he good enough to carry a team by himself or will he suffer the same fate of DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Martin, great players who weren’t good enough to overcome organizational incompetence?

Then of course comes the question if any changes are coming at the top. General manager Vlade Divac has been in charge of the front office for five years now and has three more years left on his deal. While Sacramento has made some progress under his leadership, they look no closer to the playoffs than they did when he first arrived. The Kings are in danger of being left in the dust by other clubs that have had more successful rebuilds, just look at the Memphis Grizzlies or the Phoenix Suns. It might be financially difficult for owner Vivek Ranadivé to eat the remaining years of Divac’s contract, but at some point change needs to be made and if Divac is not the long-term answer, he shouldn’t be making critical decisions this summer that will affect the team for years to come.

The Kings had hoped to make a statement in Orlando. They definitely did, just not the one they intended. If nothing else, these games proved that these Kings aren’t ready for the big stage. Change is needed, and not just on the court.

Akis Yerocostas has covered the Kings for a decade. You can follow him on Twitter at @Aykis16 or at www.kingsherald.com