2. Buddy Hield
A former member of the Sacramento Kings, Buddy Hield should have been a Laker over Russell Westbrook. I am not even the biggest Hield fan but it would have been exponentially better if the Lakers just made that trade and built up depth rather than making the Westbrook trade.
Hield was instead dealt to the Indiana Pacers in the Domantas Sabonis trade. Hield was mostly in the trade to make the salaries work as the prime jewel of that trade for the Pacers is young guard, Tyrese Haliburton.
There is speculation in Lakers land that the Pacers could potentially take on Westbrook for a package of Hield and Malcolm Brogdon if they want to free up money and build around Haliburton. While the Pacers could want to trade both of those guys, they would never make a deal for Westbrook. That is ludicrous.
However, that does not mean that the Lakers can’t just trade for Hield, who is under contract for two more seasons and has a $21.1 million cap hit for the 2022 season. The Lakers would have to package another contract into the deal, making it a package of Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and Mac McClung for Hield.
I know that McClung played well in the G League but the Lakers can absolutely afford to convert him to an NBA contract to trade him. He is not going to have an impact on next year’s team and even if he develops, his ceiling is a backend rotation guy.
The question then becomes if Hield is worth it? Personally, I don’t see a lot of value in THT on the Lakers because of his offensive limitations. Sure, he has potential down the line, but he only has two more years under contract. That potential might not be cashed until he leaves LA, anyway.
Hield has holes in his game and the Lakers would be adding another shooter who cannot really play defense but that is what the team should be looking to add. Suddenly, if the Lakers are able to trade Westbrook in a salary dump for someone like Gordon Hayward then the team would be in a much better position.
Verdict: Pursue