The Golden State Warriors are in serious talks to land Buddy Hield in a sign-and-trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Hield, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, split last season between the Indiana Pacers and the 76ers after a midseason trade. Now, if Golden State can complete this trade, he will move to the Bay Area and join a very fitting team.
The Warriors have been led by the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, for the past 13 years. That duo split up when free agency began and Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks. That left the Warriors with a need for more 3-point shooting, but very few players in league history are capable of making 3’s at the volume that Thompson did.
Well, Hield is one of them. In all of NBA history, there have been 22 individual seasons in which a player made at least 270 3-pointers. Nine of them belong to Curry. Two belong to Thompson. And, amazingly, four belong to Hield, more than anyone else in that group besides Curry. He has made exactly 40% of his 3-pointers in the NBA on 7.6 attempts per game. Thompson shoots the same volume at 7.6 attempts per game, but is slightly more efficient at 41.3%. Hield is the closest thing the Warriors could have found to a new Splash Brother. Hield has never been Thompson’s equal as a defender, but Thompson’s decline in that regard was steep.
The Warriors have spent the early portion of this offseason remaking their roster with the goal of building a cheaper team. They waived Chris Paul and let Thompson walk, but have added De’Anthony Melton through the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and Kyle Anderson through a sign-and-trade. In Hield, they would be finding a player meant to replace some of Thompson’s shooting volume, whereas Melton and Anderson add defense and playmaking, respectively. The Warriors are also reportedly being aggressive in attempting to land Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen, and given the talent drain of the past few years here, another star is probably needed for the Warriors to seriously contend for a fifth championship since 2015.
Only time will tell if they can actually do so, but Hield would be a valuable role player on a contending team. The Warriors have tried to improve around the fringes this offseason, and right now, it looks like they’re succeeding.
