The Indiana Pacers are reportedly making a deal to send Buddy Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline, per the latest NBA news. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers will receive Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz, and three second-round draft picks from Indiana.
Full trade:
Indiana Pacers receive:
Marcus Morris
Furkan Korkmaz
three second-round picksPhiladelphia 76ers receive:
Buddy Hield(Via @wojespn ) pic.twitter.com/Y73AhXkBYv
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 8, 2024
In 52 games played this year, Hield is averaging 23 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. Furthermore, the 31-year-old is shooting 44.3% from the field, including 38.4% from the three-point line.
Before the season began, Pacers GM Chad Buchanan talked about Hield and his importance to the team:
Buddy is someone that we love having on our team, we want him on our team this year. The business of basketball comes into play at times, we’ve had talks with him about an extension and those talks are at a half right now. That’s not to say that they’re done. We’d like to have Buddy with us, we have no intention of trying to move Buddy but it’s also our job to listen if opportunities come that help us improve the team. That’s what we have to do as a front office. But our intention is to have Buddy on the team this year and have him be a big part of our group
Expectations were that the 29-23 Pacers were going to trade Hield at some point in the near future. A few months ago, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto spoke on Hield potentially being on the move:
Given Indiana’s newfound frontcourt conundrum and the notion outside the organization that Hield would eventually be moved to give Mathurin, Nembhard, and Sheppard more playing time looking ahead, rival executives believe the Pacers could make another trade to bolster their team before the deadline.
NBA News: Indiana Pacers Trade Buddy Hield
What does Buddy Hield Bring to Philadelphia?
Hield is a fantastic shooter and has proven to be lethal beyond the arc. He is an excellent spot-up shooter, although Hield is not amazing at creating his own shots. Additionally, Hield is a decent rebounder for someone his size. On the flip side, Hield is not a strong defender. However, none of this matters as the 76ers were primarily looking for additional shooting, per Marc Stein. Prior to this trade, Philadelphia showed interest in Bojan Bogdanovic of the Detroit Pistons:
The Sixers, though, are also known to be looking to add shooting. Detroit’s Bojan Bogdanović is one obvious target and Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer reported Tuesday that Philadelphia has interest in Indiana’s Buddy Hield.
Ultimately, Hield’s incredible perimeter offense will be a boost for the 30-20 76ers.
The Last Word on the Buddy Hield Trade
After Joel Embiid‘s injury, there were questions about how Philadelphia would attack the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline. For now, it looks like they are still aiming to contend for a title this year. The most interesting thing to note is that Hield’s contract expires at the end of the season. It is worth keeping an eye on his status and how he plays with the 76ers for the remainder of the season.
