Daryl Morey Makes Honest Statement on Buddy Hield’s Sixers Tenure

Daryl Morey discussed Buddy Hield's time with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Apr 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Buddy Hield (17) dribbles / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

After years of trade rumors linking Buddy Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers, the veteran sharpshooter finally landed in a Sixers uniform at the 2024 trade deadline.

The Indiana Pacers couldn’t agree to an extension with Hield before the 2023-2024 regular season tipped off. When the deadline approached, the Sixers made their biggest splash in the market by picking up Hield. At the time, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey believed they landed the best player traded.

“We’re focused on upgrading this year, and we feel like we got the best player at the trade deadline that was traded,” Morey said back in February. “We felt like he gave us exactly what we were looking for. He’s one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history. We really like what he adds to the team.”

Months later, Morey is singing a slightly different tune.

Apr 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Buddy Hield (17) passes the / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

“At no fault of Buddy’s the fit was less good than I thought,” Morey said during his final press conference, following the 2024 playoffs. “Obviously, most of his time was without Joel. But I thought when Joel was back that his impact and his shooting, that’d he’d get more open shots, he didn’t.”

Hield’s first stretch of games as a Sixer brought a ton of excitement, despite the fact that Embiid was in the midst of recovering from a meniscus injury. Over time, though, his role changed.

In early April, Hield finally garnered the opportunity to play with Embiid, when the big man was cleared for action for the final stretch of games during the regular season. In the final seven outings, Hield averaged ten points in 19 minutes off the bench. He shot just 35 percent from the field.

When the playoffs rolled around, the Sixers battled for six games against the New York Knicks. Hield appeared on the court for just 29 minutes throughout the first three games before logging two straight DNPs. While he had a scoring outburst in Game 6, dropping 20 points in 21 minutes, his contributions weren’t enough to help the Sixers force a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

While Hield’s short tenure in Philly didn’t leave a desirable lasting impression, Morey takes accountability for the outcome.

“That’s on me that it didn’t work out as we hoped,” the President of Basketball Ops added. “I still think it was one of the better acquisitions. I was really happy he showed what he can do in Game 6, and based on how they’re guarding us what he can do. But for sure, there was no one more disappointed than him that he fell out of the rotation because, I think Nick correctly saw, based on how they were guarding us, that it was hard for him to impact the game, and then when they changed up how they were guarding us he did show what he can do.”

This offseason, Hield will become a free agent. Last week, he stated a desire to return to Philadelphia, despite the inconsistent minutes down the stretch. Publicly, Morey leaves the door open for a potential Hield return.

“It just didn’t quite work as well as we had hoped,” Morey finished. “I do think going forward it still could work depending on the players that are around Joel and Tyrese.”