Kings' Buddy Hield Continues to Show Interest in 76ers

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield wants out with the Sacramento Kings. And lately, he's been showing a lot of interest in the 76ers in cryptic ways.

At this point, it's no secret Buddy Hield isn't thrilled with his situation within the Sacramento Kings' organization. The 27-year-old former sixth-overall pick started his career with the New Orleans Pelicans after starring at Oklahoma for all four seasons.

In 2017, Hield ended up with the Sacramento Kings in the blockbuster trade, which sent DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans to team up with Anthony Davis. Ever since his arrival to the Kings, Hield became a reliable contributor on the court.

After averaging 15 and 13 points-per-game during his first and second seasons in Sacramento, Hield earned a spot in the starting lineup by year three. Last year, Hield averaged 31 minutes-per-game in all 82 regular-season matchups. That allowed him to collect an average of 20 PPG, which is a career-high.

Many expected big things out of Hield during his fourth season in the NBA, but the Kings' guard found himself fall out of favor with his head coach, Luke Walton. Lately, reports have indicated Hield has "soured" on Walton as the head coach -- and the veteran guard won't even answer the coach's calls.

Meanwhile, Hield is quite active on his phone as he's been liking tons of posts on social media, which has Philadelphia 76ers fans paying attention. Considering the Sixers are in need of a reliable shooter for next season, Hield's 41-percent from deep looks very intriguing for Philadelphia. Over the last season, many hypothetical trade scenarios on social media have involved Hield landing with the Sixers -- and the four-year veteran isn't hesitant to show his interest.

A week ago, Buddy Hield double-tapped to like an Instagram post, which stated the Sixers were reportedly interested in the Kings' guard. Then this week, Hield added more hype to the situation as he liked the Sixers' hiring of Doc Rivers on Twitter as well. Hield's interest in Philadelphia is a good sign for the Sixers if they truly want to trade for him -- but that's the only way they can get him right now -- and it won't be cheap.

Although the Kings are struggling to get Hield to buy into their organization, they will need a solid return in exchange for the sharpshooter. Perhaps, the Kings want to bring in Al Horford, who they had an interest in last summer. It's unclear if Sacramento would still take him on, but it's worth a shot for the Sixers to try and move Horford along with a couple of sweeteners to strike a deal.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_