Sources: Sixers trade for guard Buddy Hield from Pacers

ByTim Bontemps ESPN logo
Friday, February 9, 2024

The Philadelphia 76ersare acquiringBuddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers for Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz and three second-round picks, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hield, 31, has been one of the NBA's best 3-point shooters for years. He averaged 12 points per game on 38.4% shooting from behind the arc across 52 games this season for the Pacers. He has made 1,842 career 3-pointers, second to only Stephen Curry since entering the NBA in the 2016-17 season.

He addresses an obvious need for the 76ers, who rank in the bottom five in the NBA in both 3-point attempts and makes this season.

"He's going to go down as one of the best 3-point shooters in the history of this league, and he'll make an awful lot of them because he doesn't miss," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Hield. "He rarely misses a game, either. So it's a good opportunity for him and we move forward from there."

For a 76ers team that is dealing with several injury absences -- most notably reigning MVP Joel Embiid -- Hield is a welcome addition. He could be the first of multiple moves made by Philadelphia ahead of the deadline to fortify the roster for the stretch run, when there remains a chance Embiid could rejoin the franchise at some point after undergoing a knee procedure earlier this week.

Philadelphia also moved Danuel House Jr.to the Detroit Pistons along with a 2024 second-round pick acquired from the New York Knicks, sources said, allowing Philadelphia to move itself below the luxury tax line and, between the two trades, open up multiple roster spots for potential buyout candidates. One possible option, sources told Wojnarowski, is future Hall of Famer Kyle Lowry, who is currently on the Charlotte Hornets after being sent there by the Miami Heat in a deal for Terry Rozier last month.

Hield also is on an expiring contract, allowing Philadelphia to both maintain its flexibility for this summer, when the 76ers could have max salary cap space, and have the option to retain him in free agency.

Korkmaz, who had spent his entire seven-year career in Philadelphia, averaging 6.8 points across 328 career games, will be waived by the Pacers, sources toldWojnarowski.

It was the first of two trades on the day for Morris, who arrived to Philadelphia in the James Harden trade earlier this year and averaged 6.7 points across 37 games for his hometown team.

In another deal, the Pacers attempted to fill the shooting void by acquiring Doug McDermott from the San Antonio Spursin exchange for Morris, who is expected to be waived or bought out, and a 2029 second-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Indiana made yet another deal by sending a 2024 second-round pick to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Cory Josephand $5.6 million in cash, sources told ESPN. The Pacers are waiving Joseph, sources told Wojnarowski.

McDermott, 32, returns to the franchise where he spent three seasons from 2018 to 2021.

The Pacers dealt McDermott to the Spurs as a part of a sign-and-trade in 2021, and he returns to finish that contract in Indiana. McDermott is on an expiring contract worth $13.8 million.

This season with San Antonio, McDermott was averaging 6.0 points in 15.2 minutes per game but shooting a career-best 43.9% from three-point range. Despite the limited minutes, McDermott was third on the Spurs this season in total 3-pointers behind Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson.

Joseph, who played in 26 games for Golden State this season, played two seasons for the Pacers earlier in his career. For the Warriors, the move was about $3.75 million in cost savings on Golden State's hefty luxury tax bill.

ESPN's Andrew Lopez contributed to this report.

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