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NBA rumors: Pacers' current stance on Buddy Hield trade as 2023 … – ClutchPoints
Almost three weeks after Buddy Hield's trade request, the Pacers are running out of time to move him before tipoff of the regular season.
It's been almost three weeks since the Indiana Pacers began working with Buddy Hield to find a trade partner for the veteran sharpshooter. With exhibition action winding down and tipoff of the 2023-24 regular season just around the corner, the sides are apparently no closer to finding Hield a new NBA home.
“For all the initial noise about Buddy Hield being available for trade in Indiana after the sharpshooter and Pacers didn’t find common ground on early contract extension talks,” Yahoo! Sports Jake Fischer reported, “few rival executives believe Hield will be dealt before the season.”
Hield is most likely to be dealt leading up to the February 9th trade deadline, according to Fischer.
A trade for Buddy Hield is reportedly unlikely to happen before the start of the season and could come closer to the trade deadline, per @JakeLFischer.
The Pacers began searching for a trade for Hield in September after contract negotiations stalled. pic.twitter.com/LxwA8DvEf8
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 17, 2023
After talks on a potential contract extension in Indiana went nowhere, the Pacers and Hield both sought to find him a trade destination in late September. Despite the reported initial interest of multiple playoff teams, it appears Hield is set to begin the regular season in Indianapolis, biding his time until a more competitive market for him hopefully emerges in the days and weeks preceding the trade deadline.
Indiana refused to confirm reports at Media Day that the front office was making trade calls on Hield. But while allowing for the possibility of him ultimately remaining with the Pacers, general manager Chad Buchanan also hinted at future trade negotiations to come.
“We've had talks with him about an extension and those talks are at a halt I'd say right now. That's not to say that they're done,” he said of Hield, per Tony East of All Pacers. “We'd like to have Buddy with us. We have no intention of trying to move Buddy. But it's also our job to listen if opportunities come that help us improve the team. That's what we have to do as a front office.”
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Hield is in the final year of his current contract, seeking another long-term deal that takes him into his mid-30s. Indiana could certainly use the imminent shooting threat he provides moving without the ball, sprinting in transition and even working as a secondary ball handler, but seems fully committed to making 2022 lottery pick Bennedit Mathurin franchise player Tyrese Haliburton's primary partner in the backcourt.
Hield has come off the bench behind Mathurin in each of the Pacers' preseason games, sopping up ball-handling duties with Rick Carlisle's second unit. He's averaged 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and an impressive 5.3 assists in just 20.1 minutes per game, struggling with his shot yet consistently bending defenses to help create opportunities for teammates.
The writing is on the wall for Hield as a starter with Indiana. Barring injury, he'll be coming off the bench as the Pacers hope to jumpstart Mathurin's all-around development. Regardless of that reality and stalled extension discussions, though, the 30-year-old is still open to an extended future with the Pacers.
“Perfect world? I mean, I'm here,” he said at Media Day. “They traded for me so I expect that. I love being around the teammates, I love Rick [Carlisle].”
About the Author
Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the last legs of the Golden State Warriors' dynasty.
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