On Thursday, as the nation celebrated the Fourth of July, the Los Angeles Lakers watched another useful free agent go off the board and agree to join a different team.
Sharpshooting guard Buddy Hield had been available for several days following the official start of NBA free agency. Early on Thursday, he agreed to join the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade deal involving the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Warriors will reportedly only be giving up a 2031 second-round draft pick to obtain Hield, who is a career 40% 3-point shooter and has averaged 7.6 3-point attempts a game in his eight NBA seasons.
It almost seems like a slap in the face to the Lakers, who haven’t signed a single free agent from another team and would likely have to give up at least one first-round pick to land a player comparable to Hield in a potential trade.
Apparently, the Lakers did make an attempt to bring in Hield, but he chose Golden State for a telling reason.
Via The Athletic:
“Hield chose the Warriors because of the opportunity to win, per league sources,” wrote Shams Charania, Mark Puleo, Anthony Slater and Mike Vorkunov. “His suitors included the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.”
It’s hard to imagine the Warriors, who missed the playoffs this past season and just lost five-time All-Star Klay Thompson, as being closer to an NBA championship than the Lakers, who did make the playoffs and could’ve easily finished fourth in the Western Conference had they bothered to play hard against inferior teams. But perhaps there is a perception that the Lakers are a certifiably mediocre team these days.
The Lakers have notably been interested in Hield in the past. He was the player they were reportedly set to trade for before they pivoted and landed Russell Westbrook in 2021. Now, they have missed yet another opportunity to add him and his much-needed 3-point marksmanship.