Sacramento Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield said he was insulted by the team's four-year, $90 million contract offer last week, and expressed some doubt that the two sides would be able to reach an agreement ahead of Monday's deadline.
Despite his concerns, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Hield and the Kings have agreed to a four-year, $94 million contract extension which includes several performance-based bonuses that could push the deal to $106M. The 26-year old shooting guard, entering his fourth season in the NBA, averaged career-highs across the board last season with 20.7 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
The announcement comes as a bit of a surprise considering how Hield spoke about the contract negotiations late last week. Not only did he express a desire to explore his options with other teams in the summer of 2020 if a deal didn't get done, Hield took a shot at the organization's failure to land top stars.
“My job is to kill every night so I can be that max player...name one big free agent that came to Sacramento.”
The $94M deal isn't the $110M offer that Hield was reportedly hoping for, but he'll now have a chance to earn close to that amount if he plays at that elite level.
The Kings will open the 2019-20 season on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, October 23, followed by their home-opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 25.