Buddy Hield Is THE Steal Of The NBA Offseason

Buddy Hield Is THE Steal Of The NBA Offseason

I’m old enough to remember when the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA offseason. The Sixers, though, even with added star power, remain an unserious organisation who simply can’t seem to stop, in the time-honoured tradition of Sideshow Bob, stepping on rakes.

We’re less than a month into the new campaign so making sweeping statements can be dangerous, but the most impactful signing of the NBA offseason is a player who couldn’t break into a playoff rotation last season. Let me amend that a little: couldn’t break into PHILADELPHIA’S playoff rotation last season.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have already realised that I’m talking about Buddy Hield, the latest play-and-play success story for the Golden State Warriors.

Playing for his fourth team in four seasons, the career of the sixth overall pick back in 2016 was venturing into journeyman territory. Yet his tenure in Oakland has been nothing short of sensational thus far. Even after a stinker against the white-hot Cleveland Cavaliers – he wasn’t alone in that regard – Hield is giving the Dubs 19.1 points a game (including a career high 4.2 triples) on 51/49/86 shooting splits along with 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and just under a steal a night.  

Even with some expected regression to the mean Hield, a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc, should continue to give the Warriors a quality scoring option from the two-guard position.

When they share the court, the Hield/Steph Curry combination has a net rating of +42.9. Impressively, it’s not all offense either with their 137.8 offensive rating complimented by a 94.9 defensive rating. It’s no surprise that Hield is being spoken of as the latest addition to the ‘Splash’ family tree.

When Warriors legend Klay Thompson parted ways with the team this NBA offseason, the front office was agile enough to get something back for the wantaway veteran through an impossibly convoluted sign and trade that netted them Hield and Kyle Anderson (another sneakily good addition).

Offensively, Hield has slotted in seamlessly for Thompson. Both are elite movement shooters, meaning Warriors coach Steve Kerr can simply run the same actions for Hield as he has over the last decade for Thompson. That level of stability surrounding a new signing cannot be underestimated

What is perhaps being overlooked is Hield’s performance at the defensive end of the court. Let’s be clear: Hield, now in his ninth season, has never been anything close to a defensive force. He cannot and will not provide the stout defense at the point of attack that prime Klay did. He does, though, provide better defense than current day Klay can.

Almost three years younger and, crucially, with all the ligaments and tendons in his lower limbs still attached, Hield has been throwing himself about the floor on defense. Again, he is not and will never be a stopper. But he’s at least providing resistance, something that, sadly, injuries have rendered Thompson unable to do. An aside, here: that extra agility also makes Hield a better option than Thompson at attacking hard closeouts, allowing Hield’s always underrated playmaking to come to the fore.

Hield has proven a steal for Golden State both on the floor and in the ledger, where his sub-midlevel exception deal (just under $9 million this season) runs through to the end of 2028, assuming he picks up his player option. By comparison, Thompson is earning almost $16 million this year after his max deal expired at the end of last season.

Spare a thought, here, for Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. A former Warriors minority owner, Ranadive didn’t have to go far geographically to become the main man with an NBA franchise. One of his first major moves as Kings owner was to bring in Hield, traded for franchise centrepiece DeMarcus Cousins, with the stated intention that Hield would become the Kings very own Curry. To see his man playing arguably career best ball alongside Curry with Golden State must be at least slightly galling.

It’s clear that Hield has fit hand-in-glove with the Warriors. All around the club appear to love the guy and whilst he’s performing to anything approaching his current levels, that (Buddy) love-in (sorry!) is sure to continue.

None of this is to diminish the achievements of Thompson in a Warriors uniform. His number will hang from the rafters, his fingers are adorned with rings. But right now, for the 2024/25 NBA campaign, Buddy Hield is the right man in the right place, and the steal of the offseason for the Warriors.

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