Buddy Hield is asking the Sacramento Kings for a long-term contract extension, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.

"We need to get that done...This is where I want to be, so it would be good for me to be here in Sacramento. If I'm their guy, I think they should make it happen already. I want to build a future here. I want to be here, but we have to see something," said Hield.

The Kings have several choices: Offer him a new deal for four years at 131 million U.S. dollars; sign him to a five-year, 170-million-U.S.-dollar deal, like what the Denver Nuggets gave Jamal Murray this summer; or wait until 2020 summer when Hield will become a restricted free agent.

Hield believes he deserves a good offer from the team. "I know what I'm worth. I know what I bring to the table. I know what my value is. Not many guys can shoot the ball like me in the league. I make other guys better by just being on the court because they can't leave me, and if they leave me it's 45 percent my shot is going in, so I'm sure other teams would like that, too."

Having averaged 20.7 points, five rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last season, Hield was Sacramento's No. 1 scorer. His 42.7 percent 3-point rate was also very tempting. Usually teams would not hesitate to keep players like this with big contracts, but apparently, things have changed.

When teams decide what deal to offer rookies who are about to finish their first contract, they have three major considerations. The first is the player's recent performance, which holds nothing against Hield. However, when it comes to the second consideration, player potential and his ability to cash in that potential, the team's front office may begin to hesitate.

The reason for this is called Andrew Wiggins, who set a very bad example with the Minnesota Timberwolves. When Wiggins joined the league in 2014, he was seen as the next LeBron James thanks to his athleticism. Having watched him drop an average of 23.6 points per game in the 2016-17 season, the Timberwolves signed Wiggins to a five-year, 148-million-U.S.-dollar contract extension.

Nonetheless, that was the beginning of the young genius' fall. Wiggins' performance slipped dramatically in the following two seasons and what disappointed the team even more was his attitude. Wiggins showed so little desire to win that he almost avoided all body contact on the court.

Now you may start to understand. Teams cannot afford to pay players over 100 million U.S. dollars while watching them lie on the cash, especially for years. Moreover, if this consideration is at least a bet on a player's will, the third one is realistic enough for teams to reconsider before signing the checks: a likely drop in the salary cap.

According to Yahoo Sports, at least five teams are preparing for the possibility that the salary cap may drop by 10 to 15 percent in the 2020-21 season thanks to the ongoing fallout with China.

The projected salary cap and luxury line of the league for the 2020-21 season are 116 million and 141 million U.S. dollars respectively. A 15 percent decrease will put them at 98.6 million and 119.9 million, which will be a nightmare.

According to spotrac.com, 20 of the league's 30 teams in the 2019-20 season have a total salary of over 120 million U.S. dollars. A 15 percent drop means all of them will need to pay a luxury tax and that includes tanking teams likes the Phoenix Suns and the Memphis Grizzlies. As for (super) luxury tax payers, it's painful to even imagine how much money they will be fined.

The worst part of this scenario is, no team can save themselves via trade because no one will have enough cap space – the Atlanta Hawks, which has the smallest total salary – has over 106 million U.S. dollars to pay.

Now it all makes sense. If the salary cap drops, every dollar teams decide to pay to their players today may lead to the trouble on the balance sheet that they'll have to explain to team owners in the future.