The Buddy Hield piece of February’s mid-season trade between the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat has turned into the most interesting part of the deal, mostly because nothing is happening with it.
Kristaps Porzingis is already locked in on a new contract for the Warriors, and the Hawks have since moved on from Jonathan Kuminga even with his free agency situation still unresolved. But Hield, the third name in that trade, remains in limbo after Atlanta fully guaranteed his $9.7 million salary for next season.
That guarantee mattered. Only $3 million of Hield’s contract was originally protected, and the expectation was that Atlanta would absorb the cap hit and move on from the 33-year-old after he fell completely out of Quin Snyder’s rotation following the trade. Instead, the Hawks decided to guarantee the remaining $6.7 million, apparently with an eye on using him as an expiring contract in another move.
Nearly two months later, there still hasn’t been any reporting or buzz suggesting a Hield deal is coming together. That opens the door to the possibility that he simply stays put and opens the season in Atlanta.
If that happens, it would point to a very thin market for Hield unless the Hawks are willing to attach other assets. Put that together with their decision to decline Kuminga’s $24.3 million team option, and the Warriors may end up looking like the winners here despite plenty of skepticism around the trade at the time and since.
Hield was a real weapon for Golden State during his year and a half with the team, including a huge 33-point performance on 9-of-11 shooting in a first-round Game 7 win over the Houston Rockets in 2025. But in Atlanta, he has not been trusted at all, and there’s little reason to expect that to change after the Hawks’ offseason additions.
Atlanta brought in former Oklahoma City Thunder wings Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins, and both are set to jump Hield on the depth chart right away. The Hawks could use the kind of shooting Hield still offers, but that same case could have been made with last season’s group, which finished 13th in 3-point percentage during the playoffs.
There’s also the roster math. Atlanta has 17 fully contracted players as August winds down, which only adds more intrigue to why Hield’s contract was guaranteed in the first place and what the Hawks actually plan to do with him before opening night in October.
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