The Philadelphia 76ers have kicked off their trade deadline with a bang, acquiring volume shooter Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers. Hield is among the top available topics for a Sixers team in dire need of three-point shooting.
Given his three-point ability and volume, Hield has long been rumored as a target for the Sixers. Hield is a career 40.1% shooter from deep on 7.7 threes attempted per game and looks like the type of player that any Joel Embiid-led team would covet.
This will be Hield’s fourth team in his eight-year career, previously spending time with the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and, most recently, the Indiana Pacers.
He will fit extremely well into this Sixers team, especially when Joel Embiid returns to the lineup. His 6.9 three-pointers attempted per game rank second on the team, behind only breakout All-Star Tyrese Maxey.
What did the Sixers give up?
The Sixers have sent Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz, and three second-round picks to the Indiana Pacers to acquire his services. While both Morris and Korkmaz have been solid depth pieces for the Sixers this season, this is tremendous value on a three-point flamethrower like Hield.
The Sixers gave up an extra second-round pick in this deal to create more cap space for this season. This allows them to have more flexibility when the buyout market approaches. This trade opens up a roster spot for the buyout market should anyone be released after the deadline.
Hield is in the final year of a four-year, ninety-four million dollar deal. His salary is set at right about eighteen million dollars this season after which he will become an unrestricted free agent.
The Sixers also gain Hield’s bird rights which would allow the team to go over the cap to extend the former Oklahoma shooting guard. This keeps the Sixers offseason salary cap plan open while still maintaining the flexibility of working out a new contract after the season.
