Daryl Morey: Buddy Hield was ‘best player’ traded at deadline

Daryl Morey: Buddy Hield was ‘best player’ traded at deadline

To open the fireworks on Thursday roughly five hours ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers traded for Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield in a three-team deal. The four-player trade ultimately sent Doug McDermott and Furkan Korkmaz back to Indiana while Marcus Morris got sent to the San Antonio Spurs.

This news did not come long after that Joel Embiid would miss most of, if not the rest of the season with a torn meniscus–one that required surgery. The 76ers were still in the playoff chase as the No. 5 seed, and general manager Daryl Morey clearly wanted to keep the team competitive in spite of missing their best player and the league’s reigning MVP.

Hield’s one of the best shooters in the sport, knocking down the most 3-pointers on near 40-percent efficiency since the start of the 2019-20 season. Morey spoke with the media earlier this week to discuss the move and the impact that Hield will have in this context:

“Look, with Joel and Tyrese (Maxey), he puts the fear of God in other teams,” Morey said, according to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “The shots are coming; they’re coming in transition, they’re coming deep, they’re coming off actions. You need to pay a lot of attention to Buddy Hield on the court … and that’s super valuable with Joel and Tyrese in opening up things up for them. … We were focused on (when) the playoffs are here, we have a rotation we know can win at a super-high level. 

“Buddy Hield’s going to play significant minutes in that rotation. The only player that moved teams that was going to play a big role in our rotation was Buddy Hield, and I think what he brings to the table is pretty obvious.”

Hield, signed a four-year, $94 million extension ahead of the 2019-20 season, when he was still apart of the Sacramento Kings. Hield was traded at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline to the Pacers and as the centerpiece in this trade.

He’s in the final year of his current contract with a $19.9 million cap hit, per Spotrac. Plus, the Pacers were trying to trade him ahead of the 2023-24 season and, understandably, did not want to lose him for nothing.

“I feel like we got the best player at the trade deadline that was traded,” Morey added. “I felt like he gave us exactly what we were looking for, which is he’s one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history. We really like what he adds to the team and we feel like our healthy group, our playoff rotation with Buddy Hield is right there with everyone in the entire league.”

Do you agree with Morey? What do you think about this move for the 76ers? Let us know in the comments!

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