Buddy Hield’s path back into the spotlight may have just opened wider in Charlotte.
The Hornets announced Friday that Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams both suffered hamstring injuries and will miss all of preseason before being re-evaluated in the first week of the regular season next month. For Hield, that kind of timing matters. He arrived in Charlotte earlier this week after being traded by the Golden State Warriors at February’s mid-season deadline, and the injury to Knueppel could give him a much clearer shot at rotation minutes.
That opportunity wasn’t guaranteed before this. Charlotte’s wing and guard mix already included Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Grayson Allen and others, which made the route to steady playing time look crowded. Now, with Knueppel sidelined to start the year, one of the biggest obstacles in front of Hield is suddenly gone, at least for now.
The Hornets may need his shooting more than they expected. Knueppel led the league in 3-pointers made last season as a rookie, drilling 273 of them while shooting 42.5%. Charlotte also traded star guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason, and Ball had finished second to Knueppel in 3-pointers made last season, both for the Hornets and across the league.
That leaves a real opening for Hield to help keep Charlotte’s perimeter volume intact. The Hornets ranked only behind the Warriors in 3-point attempts per game last season, so the demand for shot-making is obvious.
Hield has never had trouble letting it fly. The question is whether the efficiency comes back with it.
His first season with Golden State brought a 37% mark from deep, which was the second-worst of his career at that point. Last season, before moving on to Atlanta, he shot 34.4% from beyond the arc, easily the lowest of his career. For a player trying to reboot his NBA standing, that’s the part that has to turn around.
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