A familiar name from the Indiana Pacers’ recent past is on the move again.
On Tuesday, Buddy Hield was included in a late-offseason NBA trade, with ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting that the Atlanta Hawks agreed to send Hield, Ryan Nembhard and cash to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith. Charania posted on X, "The Atlanta Hawks are trading Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for Dorian Finney-Smith, sources tell ESPN."
For Pacers fans, Hield still carries some cachet. He was part of the major deal that brought Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana and sent Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings as the headliner of that return. Hield’s run with the Pacers lasted about two seasons, and his lone full year in Indiana came in 2022-23.
That season was the one that stuck. Hield appeared in 80 games and averaged 16.8 points, five rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while knocking down 42.5 percent of his threes. He gave Indiana exactly what it expected: volume shooting, spacing, and a threat defenses had to respect every time he crossed half court.
The fit eventually ran into a financial wall. Indiana couldn’t meet the number Hield wanted on a contract extension, and that led to a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Even though he’s been out of Indiana for years, fans still greet him warmly at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. His time with the Pacers was brief, but memorable.
Hield’s career has cooled since then. Last season, the 33-year-old split 51 games between the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta, averaging 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.1 minutes per game.
Now he heads to Charlotte, where he’ll try to carve out a bigger role for a Hornets team looking to move closer to playoff contention.
In Other News...
Tyrese Haliburton Had A Painful Knicks Confession Pacers Fans Will Feel
Tyrese Haliburton opened up this week about one of the tougher parts of watching the postseason from the outside, and it came with a familiar twist for Pacers fans who had already seen how much his absence mattered. In an interview on the Boardroom Podcast, Haliburton reflected on the New York Knicks winning the NBA championship and talked through the swirl of emotions that came with it, including the frustration of not being able to compete in the playoffs because of injury.
He said the moment brought together anger, happiness and sadness, a blunt reminder of how much he wanted to be part of the chase while still recognizing what New York accomplished. Haliburton also touched on his friendships with some Knicks players even with the rivalry still very much alive, a small personal note that added another layer to a postseason story Pacers supporters already know hit close to home. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Season May Come Down To One Tyrese Haliburton Question
Yahoo Sports Kevin OConnor slotted the Pacers 14th in his NBA preseason power rankings, which feels about right for a team trying to balance present expectations with a few moving pieces. Indianas projected starting group of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac gives the roster a clear backbone, and it also shows how much the front office has already leaned into building around Haliburton and Siakam.
The problem is that those kinds of projections only matter if Haliburton is available and operating at the level Indiana needs from him. The Pacers already paid a real price to add Zubac, losing a first-round pick to the Clippers after that selection conveyed when Indiana fell to fifth in the lottery, so the margin for error is thin. If this season goes the way Indiana hopes, it may end up being defined less by the depth chart than by one central Haliburton question the team has to answer along the way. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Have One Depth Concern That Could Decide Their Title Push
The Pacers have built a roster that looks strong at the top, but the question hanging over their title push is what happens after the first wave of contributors. Outside the main rotation, there are not many obvious options for meaningful minutes, and the group behind the top eight includes players with limited experience or lingering questions about whether they can deliver in a playoff setting.
For a team trying to survive the grind of a long postseason, that lack of depth could matter almost as much as star power. Injuries have a way of exposing thin benches, and the teams that usually last the longest are the ones that get unexpected help from role players. Indiana may have enough talent to make a real run, but its margin for error looks slimmer than that of some of the leagues other contenders. [Read more 🡒]