Sacramento Kings: Player grades at the one-month mark of the season

The ugly for the Sacramento Kings

Cory Joseph

Grade: D+

We never really expect much out of Cory Joseph. His defense-first mentality is refreshing, but his presence as the primary ball-handler gives the Kings a completely different offensive identity than when Fox is running the point. His 3-point shot has never been the most reliable, and now he is shooting his lowest percentage since his rookie season in 2011-12. He is not a creator by any means and provides very little spark to a second unit that desperately needs one. His grade would be even lower if expectations were higher, but we know that this is what you get from Cory Joseph.

Buddy Hield

Grade: D

There is a lot going on with Buddy Hield: Does he fit the long term plan? Is his contract tradable? Would the Kings even find remotely good value on the market for his services? Throw in his history of displays of malcontent and an obvious statistical regression, and the Kings could have a serious issue on their hands.

One of the league’s premier shooters in recent memory, Hield is enduring his worst season since he was a rookie. He has returned to a familiar role after a year of uncertainty, but he is failing to make the most of it and could become a liability instead of an asset if he is unable to put things back together. Quickly.

Nemanja Bjelica

Grade: F

After a productive first couple of seasons in Sacramento, Bjelica has fallen out of the rotation and his future with the Kings is questionable at best. His scoring output has been cut nearly in half, and the same with his minutes. He played regular rotational minutes over the first 10 games of the season but has not appeared in any of the last six contests. His paltry 23.8 percent mark from beyond the arc is by far the lowest of his career, and he is not much of a threat without the long ball. Any trade value that Bjelica had coming into the season has been diminished, and he could be finishing his final days in Sacramento by watching from the bench.