According to reports from The Athletic and ESPN, former Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield is heading to the Golden State Warriors in free agency.
To get to the Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a sign-and-trade involving Hield. The 31-year old guard was sent to Philly from the Indiana Pacers at the trade deadline in February for multiple second-round draft picks.
“Buddy is a player that contributes valuably to us on the court, in the locker room. But we’re also in a situation where we’ve got to make some tough decisions. Building this team requires some tough decisions, and today was one of them,” Pacers GM Chad Buchanan said of the trade at the time. Hield asked to be dealt.
Before the season, the Pacers tried to extend Hield’s contract. They wanted to keep him around, but the sharpshooter wasn’t interested in the offer. The veteran shooting guard addressed the situation early on in the 2023-24 campaign, but it faded as a storyline throughout the season.
Hield was coming off the bench to open the year but re-entered the starting five after just under a month. His role changed again around Christmas, then another time after Indiana acquired Pascal Siakam in a trade. He was a reserve when the trade deadline came earlier this year.
Hield told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that lineup indecisions were a part of his desire to be traded away from Indiana. He also felt like the vibe of his contract situation changed as the season progressed. On February 8, he was traded to Philadelphia.
With the 76ers, Hield played in 32 games before reaching the postseason for the first time in his career. He played in four of Philly’s six playoff games. As the Sixers pivoted to a cap space team this offseason, keeping HIeld was going to be almost impossible. So they are trading him as an over-the-cap team before they go under the cap and use their space. He’s going to Golden State via a sign-and-trade, per multiple reports.
The 76ers will get a 2031 second-round pick from Dallas out of the deal, per those reports. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN detailed that Hield is getting $21 million on his new deal that spans four years, but the third year of the contract is partially guaranteed and the fourth year contains a player option.
During 158 games with Indiana, Hield averaged 15.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He will pair well as a sharpshooter next to former MVP Stephen Curry.
Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/pacers/news/reports-former-indiana-pacers-guard-buddy-hield-to-join-golden-state-warriors-via-sign-and-trade
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Publish date : 2024-07-04 15:17:17
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