CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers acquired Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers at the trade deadline. The free agent to be was expected to provide the necessary shooting to complement Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey on the offensive end.
In 32 games for the Sixers, Hield averaged 12.2 points and shot 38.9% from deep. He played most of his games without Embiid due to the injury the big fella suffered. He played five regular-season games with Embiid.
Then, Hield had a tough start to the postseason and was out of the rotation for games 4 and 5 in the first round. He had 20 points in Game 6, however, as he found his rhythm.
“I think, at no fault of Buddy’s, the fit was less good than I thought,” said President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. “Obviously, most of his time was without Joel, but I thought when Joel was back that his impact and his shooting, that he’d get more open shots, he didn’t. So that’s on me that it didn’t work out as we hoped. I still think it was one of the better acquisitions.”
In theory, Hield should be a perfect player to put next to Embiid and Maxey due to his shooting. It was tough for him to find his rhythm midseason and with the injury issues up and down the roster. If he returns to Philadelphia in free agency, one has to assume a full training camp will help.
“I was really happy he showed what he can do in Game 6, and based on how they’re guarding us what he can do, but for sure, there was no one more disappointed than him that he fell out of the rotation,” Morey added. “I think Nick correctly saw based on how they were guarding us that it was hard for him to impact the game and then when they changed up how they were guarding us he did show what he can do.”
Other acquisitions such as Kyle Lowry and Cam Payne made an impact. Morey knows what Hield can do. It didn’t work out, but there is hope he can make an impact in the future.
“I think Kyle Lowry and Cam Payne, both of them really added to the team, they were able to add at a high level,” he finished. “And then Buddy, it just didn’t quite work as well as we had hoped, but I do think going forward it still could work depending on the players that are around Joel and Tyrese.”
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