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Hield ready to find 'another home' if Kings don't meet demands

Rocky Widner / National Basketball Association / Getty

Buddy Hield has issued a warning to the Sacramento Kings.

Both sides have reached an impasse in contract-extension negotiations with Monday's deadline quickly approaching.

On Wednesday, a candid Hield said he'll begin reconsidering his future in Sacramento if the two parties can't come to terms.

"I don't know if things are going to get done," he said, according to The Athletic's Jason Jones. "If it don't get done, me and my team will look somewhere else, probably look for another home. Until then, we'll see what happens here. That's the goal, to be here, and I love Sacramento.

"But if they don't want me here, they don't feel like I'm part of the core - I like respect and loyalty and I feel like I'm part of the group that's been getting the team back where it needs to be. So like I said I want to be here, but if they don’t want me here I’ll find somewhere else to be."

The 26-year-old is holding out for approximately $110 million over four years, sources told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. However, the club's last tabled bid is believed to be worth $90 million.

If no agreement is reached, Hield would be able to test the market as a restricted free agent next summer. Though the Kings would hold the right to match any offer sheets for the veteran, there's a legitimate chance they could lose the team's leading scorer last season as he potentially joins a star-filled 2020 free-agent class.

Hield, the sixth overall pick in 2016, came over to the Kings midway through his rookie year as part of the trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 15.1 points on 42.8% shooting from three in his first half-season in Sacramento.

After a year spent mostly as a reserve, he was given full-time starting duties for the 2018-19 season and capitalized on the opportunity, recording career-high averages in points (20.7), rebounds (five), and assists (2.5) while shooting 42.7% from three.

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