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In the first season of Buddy Hield, he was traded right away to the Sacramento Kings where has spent majority of his career. It has been a tumultuous ride for Hield as there are games where he would convert over six three-point shots, then there are instances wherein head coach Luke Walton would limit his minutes in lieu of the backcourt of Tyrese Haliburton and De'Aaron Fox.
Hield has been in and out of the starting lineup, and his constant weakness has been contributing on other facets of his game. As the Kings drafted another guard in Baylor's Davion Mitchell, Hield continues to lose minutes to two young studs in Haliburton and Mitchell. With two more years in his deal after this one, Hield has a tradable contract to any contending team that needs a shooter. Thus, here are three teams that must chase Hield.
The Los Angeles Clippers have the third highest payroll in the association, but they could package two or three of their role players to acquire a shooter like Buddy Hield. With the absence of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George has been immensely carrying the offensive load for the Clippers, which will be difficult for him to sustain all throughout the season.
Marcus Morris and Serge Ibaka have continued missing several games already as it has severely depleted their depth. Asking for Hield from Sacramento opens up the floor for George and their other slashers, such as Reggie Jackson and Eric Bledsoe. The Clippers were the best three-point shooting percentage team last year, but a drastic drop-off has caused them to struggle early this season. Hield will address that weakness, thus the Clippers must try to get him before the trade deadline.
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The duo of Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Edwards have led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a hot start in their 2021-22 campaign. As a squad with a young core, there are still several gaping holes in the composition of their team. Their shooting could still be vastly improved, thus adding Hield for Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley or Taurean Prince would be terrific.
With Edwards still on his rookie contract, Minnesota could still pay Hield his salary as his game would complement the core of Towns, Edwards, and even D'Angelo Russell. Their defense is still a question mark, thus if they add Hield, their next priority must be to add tough and rugged defenders like Beverley.
The style of play of Slovenian Luka Doncic has been predicated to his ability to find shooters in the perfect spot for them to maximize their strengths. The five-out style of the Dallas Mavericks is perfect for a player like Hield because he would have a plethora of open shots every game. Seth Curry and Tim Hardaway Jr. are just two of the main shooters that has flourished because of the phenomenal court vision of Doncic.
The Mavericks could send Dwight Powell and Josh Green to Sacramento as the Kings could execute this deal because of their shaky relationship with Hield. Moreover, the Kings could shore up their front court with this deal and try their hand on a sophomore in Green. Hield will provide instant offense for Jason Kidd as the number of options continues to increase in order to support Doncic with the scoring workload.
As previously mentioned, Buddy Hield has three years left on his deal, but it seems unlikely for him to stay with Sacramento long term because of the slew of their guards in their lineup. Hield could increase his opportunities wherein his services would be utilized better.
