NBA News and Notes: Kings’ Walton, Hield Doing Well

Another week without NBA action has all of us antsy for more games, but we’ll have to continue to deal with the situation as it is. There has been some optimism about the MLB beginning again in July, but the NBA has not followed suit there.

There is some news in Sacramento, as Luke Walton and Buddy Hield’s relationship is supposedly still “very good.” A starter for his first few years in Sacramento, Buddy was taking on a sixth-man role as the Kings had struggled to win games. They moved him there after a long losing skid, as things continued to worsen.

He was playing well, averaging nearly 20 points per game as a reserve. The big reason for the move was also likely tied to Bogdan Bogdanovic threatening to leave as a free agent this summer. Giving him the chance to start was a potential opportunity to keep him happy here. We’ll know soon if they’ll both be here next year.

Wroten Looks To Come Back

Next, we have former NBA point guard Tony Wroten. He spent four injury-prone seasons in the NBA, one in Memphis and three in Philly. He has not played in the league since the 2015-16 campaign when he got hurt after his eighth game with the 76ers. But the year prior, he averaged 17-3-5 in 30 minutes a night, also posting 1.6 steals per game.

He’s a 6-6 combo guard that works his tail off on both ends of the floor and deserves a fair opportunity to return to the league. The potential he was flashing with Philly is enough for teams to consider giving him a shot. For reference, Marshon Brooks and Emeka Okafor both played during the 2017-18 season after four years out of the league. It’s all about opportunity.

Keeping Frank?

Over in New York, it does not seem that 2017 lottery pick Frank Ntilikina is going to be going anywhere. New Knicks president Leon Rose represented him when he was an agent, and so that seems like a partnership that is going to remain intact.

Frank has not had a great career to date, and is averaging career highs in scoring (6.3 ppg), steals (0.9 per game), 3P% (32.1%). He has started 26 games this year after only getting that opportunity in 25 games over his first two seasons. It hasn’t helped that he’s played for several head coaches, but the situation is what it is.

They had been linked to Dennis Smith Jr. before that draft, but obviously took Ntilikina. They traded Kristaps Porzingis (and Tim Hardaway Jr.) a year ago and brought Smith Jr. to the team. It has been an experiment gone awry, to put it lightly. He has barely been able to score, and none of the coaches here have even trusted him.

Point on Frank, though, his services will likely be retained by the Knicks and not dealt this summer. He had a 20-point, 10-assist game shortly before the league stopped, showing the potential fans have waited three years to see. He’ll stick around.

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