By Shams Charania, Mark Puleo, Anthony Slater and Mike Vorkunov
After an extensive recruiting process in recent days, the Golden State Warriors have reached an agreement with free-agent guard Buddy Hield, league sources said. They will acquire him in a sign-and-trade with the Philadelphia 76ers that will be expanded to five teams to make it work, league sources said.
Hield’s new contract is a four-year deal with a starting salary of $8.7 million and a fourth-year player option. The Warriors are sending a 2031 second-round pick from Dallas, acquired in the departure of Klay Thompson, back to Philadelphia in return, flipping it as part of the five-team deal that also includes the Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Hield is currently in Valencia, Spain, starring for the Bahamian national team, which is two wins shy of a shock Olympic bid and is coached by Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco, a helpful ally in Hield’s recruitment. Things had been in the works for a few days, but Hield only made a final decision after a late Wednesday night phone call with Steve Kerr and then a night to sleep on it.
Hield chose the Warriors because it gave him the chance to convince other interested players, including the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
After losing Thompson, the Warriors were desperate for a high-volume shooter who could open up the court a bit more in some of their lineup combinations. That’s Hield’s specialty. Since 2017, the only player to make more 3-pointers than Hield is his new teammate, Steph Curry.
Hield, 31, averaged 12.2 points in 32 regular-season games with the Sixers, shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from 3. He was acquired by Philadelphia in a deadline deal from the Indiana Pacers. He has career averages of 15.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game on 40 percent from 3 since 2016-17.
Hield and Kyle Anderson are included in the Thompson trade exception, which was generated after Thompson agreed to a three-year, $50 million contract with the Mavericks early in free agency. The Warriors effectively replaced Thompson and Chris Paul with Hield, Anderson and De’Anthony Melton this summer.
Hield has shot over 40 percent from 3 in three seasons, most recently in 2022-23 with the Pacers. In 2020-21, he hit four 3s per game, third-most in the league.
What does this mean for the Warriors?
They’ve remade the middle of their rotation with a trio of reliable veterans with varying skill sets. Melton, assuming he’s healthy, gives them a defensive punch at shooting guard alongside Curry and someone who can handle the toughest perimeter defense assignments while spacing the floor and not having to have the ball in his hands. Anderson is a long-armed, crafty wing who played 15 minutes a night in the Timberwolves’ playoff rotation. Hield provides the floor-spacing power they just lost when Thompson walked out the door.
The Warriors are still far from being a contender for the final victory, but they have improved considerably. Anthony Slater, Warriors reporter
Held was probably too expensive for the 76ers
Losing Hield robs Philadelphia of a potential role player in its new big three, but Hield was likely too expensive anyway. He was cut from last season’s playoff rotation after arriving just before the trade deadline — save for a magical quarter against the Knicks. The Sixers can use that second-round pick as another piece of ammunition for whatever Daryl Morey is or will be cooking up. This will severely cap the Sixers on the secondary, as they’ve sent their own player away in a sign-and-trade. — Mike Vorkonov, NBA Business Reporter
Required reading
(Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)