Report: Buddy Hield, Pacers are working to find a potential trade
After contract extension talks have reportedly stalled, the Indiana Pacers and Buddy Hield have begun the process of looking for a potential trade, NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Wednesday.
After contract extension negotiations stalled out, Buddy Hield and the Indiana Pacers have started dialogue to work on finding a potential trade, league sources say.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 20, 2023
Story at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/B7H26hxR26
According to Charania, Hield is “open to a trade elsewhere,” even though no deal with any team is imminent in any way yet. He also reports that “multiple teams are expected to express interest” and that Indiana offered Hield an extension in recent weeks, which he obviously declined.
Hield, 30, is entering the final year of a four-year, $94 million extension he signed ahead of the 2019-20 season when he was still with the Sacramento Kings. He carries a $19.3 million cap hit for the upcoming season, per Spotrac, thus the biggest extension that Hield could earn would be worth just over $120 million across four years.
Over the last five years, Hield leads the NBA in made 3-pointers, 120 more than Stephen Curry–the greatest shooter ever–263 more than Damian Lillard, 274 more than Jayson Tatum and 365 more than Donovan Mitchell, who round the top-5 over that span.
Hield averaged 16.8 points on 42.5 percent shooting from 3-point range (8.5 attempts) last season, in addition to 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 31 minutes per game across 80 contests. He sported a career-best efficiency last season, sporting a 59.6 effective field goal and 61.4 true-shooting percentage.
Here is what general manager Kevin Pritchard said about a possible Hield extension in April.
“I love Buddy. There’s some things that he does that’s not on the court. The way he keeps practice light. But I think we’ve got to define his role next year. And if we can get a role where he’s comfortable and we’re comfortable, then I’m not opposed to [an extension],” he said. “Now I’m not saying we’re going to do it for sure, but I’m not opposed to it.”
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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