he mass exodus of 2023-24 Sixers continues: Buddy Hield, the team’s prized trade deadline acquisition last February, is following De’Anthony Melton to the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade deal.
The move was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, and the Sixers will be getting a 2031 second-round draft pick via the Dallas Mavericks in return.
Warriors are sending a 2031 Dallas second-round pick to Philadelphia to complete sign-and-trade for Hield, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. https://t.co/eVehtKrhyM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 4, 2024
The new contract that the Sixers will be shipping over to the Warriors along with Hield will be for two guaranteed years at $21 million and a partially guaranteed third year at $3 million, with a player option for year 4, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Sixers were going to be forced to renounce their Bird rights to Hield in order to free up the requisite cap space to ink Paul George to a four-year max deal, making it difficult to imagine Hield returning to Philadelphia. That calculus only got more complicated when factoring in that the Sixers signed sharpshooter Eric Gordon to a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum on Sunday evening, likely setting the stage for him to occupy what was once Hield’s role in the offense.
The Sixers appeared prepared to lose him for nothing, but an opportunity to squeeze minor compensation out of Golden State presented itself when they put the reported future second-rounder on the table.
The Warriors will fit Hield into a portion of the traded player exception they generated by sign-and-trading franchise icon Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. Golden State already used the majority of room in that TPE to acquire forward Kyle Anderson from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a similarly structured sign-and-trade, and will work Hield into the remainder of it.
The Sixers acquired Hield, who will turn 32 years old in December, from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Marcus Morris Sr., Furkan Korkmaz and three future second-round picks (one of those picks was No. 36 overall in last week’s 2024 NBA Draft). In his first four games with the team, he looked like a star. But as time went on, his production dissipated, and so did his playing time.
Hield eventually fell out of head coach Nick Nurse’s rotation during the team’s first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, only to be reinserted into action in an elimination game. He knocked down six threes, including five in the second quarter alone. The crowd in South Philadelphia chanted Hield’s name for one glorious moment, but later that night the Sixers’ season ended and it turned out to be his final appearance with the team.
In 32 games (14 starts) with the Sixers, Hield played 25.8 minutes per game and averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest while making 38.9 percent of his three-point tries on 6.6 attempts per game.
