A fairly surprising trade news was dropped by Shams Charania of The Athletic on Wednesday. No, it wasn't anything regarding Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard. But, it did involve one of the best shooters in the NBA. He reported that Buddy Hield and the Indiana Pacers could not come to an agreement regarding a contract extension and that the two sides would be working together on a potential trade to get Hield in a more desirable situation.

Charania did not report on which specific teams would be interested in Buddy Hield but he did note that ‘many teams' would be interested. So, who could one of those teams be? Do the Dallas Mavericks make sense as a trade partner? What could a Dallas package look like?

Perfect Buddy Hield trade Mavs must offer Pacers

Dallas gets: Buddy Hield

Indiana gets: Tim Hardaway Jr., 2025 second-round pick (via TOR), 2028 second-round pick (via MIA)

Why it makes sense for the Mavs

Buddy Hield would not necessarily raise the potential of Dallas' defense that ranked 25th in the NBA last season, but he sure would make the Mavericks even more of a nightmare to guard. The Mavs were already one of the more willing three-point shooting teams in the NBA. Not just willing, but efficient. The Mavs shot 41 threes per game last season as a team; only the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics shot more.

They also ranked eighth in three-point percentage as a team, making 37.1% of the threes they took last season. Only the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, and Phoenix Suns made threes at a higher clip.

Tim Hardaway Jr. is a plus shooter; he's made 36.1% of his threes for his career on an average of 6.2 attempts per game. That's a really good number. But he isn't Buddy Hield. He has made 40.2% of his career threes and averages over seven attempts per game. Last season, no player who shot at least 5.5 threes per game had a better percentage on catch-and-shoot threes than Hield's 41.9%.

Buddy Hield is one of the best shooters in the NBA, and surrounding as many of those as you can next to Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic is extremely valuable. The issue comes on the defensive end of the floor and the value that would be given up.

The Mavericks only have a pair of second-round picks they can trade and are already down a first after which they gave up to acquire Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets. It's worth wondering if the Mavs are best served giving up pieces for an upgrade on an archetype of a player they already have. But if they want to max out on being an offense-first team that outscores everybody, then Hield makes all kinds of sense for the Mavericks to pursue.

Why it makes sense for the Pacers

For one, familiarity. Tim Hardaway Jr. played alongside head coach Rick Carlisle in Dallas for years before Carlisle left the Mavericks and took the Pacers job. Hardaway Jr. is an accomplished vet who will know what is asked of him and, as mentioned earlier, isn't a slouch of a shooter either.

He might not get as much playing time as he did or would in Dallas thanks to the logjam of guards the Pacers have, which includes Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin, Bruce Brown, and rookie Ben Sheppard out of Belmont, but it seems like Hardaway Jr. would be more receptive to a bit of a downtick in minutes than Hield would.

For another, the Pacers are getting more draft picks. The Pacers already have four future second-round picks that are from another team. Adding more of those can never hurt and could be useful in a trade down the line. First-round picks have been acquired for two-to-three second-round picks before, as have plenty of useful veterans. The Pacers would be getting a useful veteran who already has proven he can fit in their offensive scheme and picks to add to their ledger. Sounds like a win for the Pacers.

Conclusion

Buddy Hield and the Pacers are looking for a trade. There are a lot of teams that jump out that could make sense for one of the best shooters in the NBA. The Mavericks may not be one of those teams at first glance but could potentially be a trade partner. How this situation resolves itself will be worth watching before the season tips off in a couple of weeks.