The news that the Indiana Pacers are looking into trades for Buddy Hield isn’t especially surprising. The Pacers have three ascending guards in Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard that all need more minutes and more shots. They just signed Bruce Brown to a hefty contract in free agency, and T.J. McConnell is still around for backcourt depth as well. Hield can help the Pacers, but he’s not exactly a necessity in Indiana.
The ironic component of this news is the timing. Buddy Hield has lost his safety school. Hield has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers for two years. Such a deal made plenty of sense. The Lakers have been among the NBA’s worst shooting teams for practically the entire LeBron James era. Hield has never played with a shot-creator of James’ caliber and likely would have thrived alongside him.
The Kings almost traded Hield to the Lakers in 2021, but the Lakers chose Russell Westbrook at the last second. The Pacers almost traded Hield to the Lakers in 2022, but asked for too much in a package deal with Myles Turner. Now it’s 2023, and right when Hield appears to be at his most gettable, the Lakers are probably off of the table. They simply lack the tradable salary to make a real run at Hield now. Perhaps that could change mid-season when D’Angelo Russell becomes trade-eligible, but for now, the obvious Hield destination is off of the table.
So who does make sense for Hield if he is dealt before the start of the season? Here are three possibilites.
The Raptors ranked 25th in the NBA in half-court offense last season… and they just replaced Fred VanVleet, a former All-Star and among the better shooting point guards in the NBA, with Dennis Schroder, a mid-level addition who is rarely guarded from deep. Aside from the active tankers, the Raptors might have the NBA’s worst half-court offense next season. Any shooting improvement would go a long way. So how about a swap for Gary Trent Jr., who just opted into the final year of his deal?
Trent is no slouch from deep either, but after shooting over…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/buddy-hield-trade-rumors-three-possible-destinations-with-pacers-sharpshooter-on-the-block-again/
Author : Sam Quinn
Publish date : 2023-09-21 17:35:39
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