NBA Trade Grades: 76ers Beef Up Outside Shooting With Buddy Hield
The Philadelphia 76ers are still dealing in the wake of an injury to Joel Embiid.
The Sixers traded for guard Buddy Hield before Thursday’s deadline, per multiple reports. Philly will send Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz and three second-round picks to the Indiana Pacers in return.
Hield, a perennial fixture on the trade rumor circuit, is making roughly $19.2 million in the final year of his contract. The 31-year-old is a career 40.1% three-point shooter.
Let’s grade the deal for both sides.
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76ers: B+
Hield may not be a third star to place alongside Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but he’s a no-brainer for Philly to acquire at such a low cost. When Embiid is healthy, Hield adds a lethal dose of shooting around a big man who commands constant double teams. Having the option of putting a sniper like Hield on the floor will make the 76ers’ already sixth-best offense even tougher to defend. And while Embiid is out for at least the next month or so, Hield should provide some level of relief for Maxey as a secondary scorer. On top of all that, with his contract up at the end of the season, acquiring Hield doesn’t jeopardize any of Philly’s massive cap space this upcoming summer.
Hield provides additional shooting when Embiid is healthy and takes pressure off Maxey while Embiid is out.
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Hield has never played in a postseason game, so no one knows how well he will hold up in that environment. Defense has also never been his strong suit. Playing off Embiid and Maxey in a well-defined role should be a solid way for Hield to ease into high-stakes basketball, though.
Pacers: C-
This move is financially motivated for Indiana more than anything else. With Tyrese Haliburton’s contract extension kicking in next season and a new deal needed for Pascal Siakam, it looks like the Pacers weren’t confident about bringing back Hield as a part of their future. Three second-round picks is not nothing. At the very least, it gives a small-market team more bites at the apple at filling out its rotation around the Haliburton-Siakam pairing. Morris and Korkmaz are currently more salary filler than guys who should expect minutes, though perhaps Korkmaz’s outside shooting could help on certain nights. Short term, this trade weakens the Pacers and strengthens a team they could have to face in the playoffs. That’s not very fun.
