According to NBA insider Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in trading for Indiana Pacers shooting guard Buddy Hield.
The Pacers are open to trading Hield, who is in the final year of his contract.
“Philadelphia is exploring conversations with a variety of teams, but one known target for the Sixers is Pacers guard Buddy Hield, league sources told Yahoo Sports,” Fischer wrote. “Hield’s $18.5 million dollar salary would be a match for several of the Sixers’ expiring contracts, and his expiring deal wouldn’t add future financial burden onto Philadelphia’s clean cap sheet for this offseason, as the Sixers have left rival teams with the impression they are still wary of taking back longterm salary at this juncture.”
Hield is making $18.6 million this season. He turned down an extension offer from the Pacers earlier in the season.
The Sixers already made one big trade this season, sending James Harden and PJ Tucker to the Los Angeles Clippers for Kenyon Martin Jr., Marcus Morris Sr., Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington. Daryl Morey, one of the most aggressive execs in the NBA, could make another trade in the wake of Joel Embiid going down with a knee injury that required surgery.
Hield is averaging 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks this season while shooting 43.9% from the field, 38.2% from beyond the arc and 84.8% from the free-throw line. The 31-year-old is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA.
The Sixers are in fifth place in the East with a record of 30-19. The team needs more shooters, as they are only 27th in the NBA in 3-point field goals, so it makes sense that Morey is targeting Hield.
An Oklahoma product, Hield has career averages of 15.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.3 blocks with the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Pacers. He’s a career 40.1% shooter from 3.
