3 76ers Who Won't Be Back in 2024
By Jovan Alford
3. Buddy Hield
Daryl Morey’s trade deadline acquisition of Buddy Hield didn’t pan out as he wasn’t playable in the NBA playoffs.
Hield joined the Sixers in February after spending the previous three seasons with the Indiana Pacers. The 31-year-old wing played well in the regular season for the Sixers, averaging 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 25.8 minutes per game.
The veteran wing also shot 42.6 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, giving the Sixers the three-point shooter they needed. However, Hield couldn’t replicate that success in the playoffs, which puts him in an interesting spot heading into free agency.
In the first-round series against the Knicks, Hield scored 5.5 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting from the field and 46.2 percent from deep.
Surprisingly, Hield’s best game of the series happened in Game 6, where he went off for 20 points (6-10 FG, 6-9 3pt), four rebounds, and an assist in 21 minutes off the bench. One could make the case that if Hield had one more 15-20 point performance in the series, it could’ve changed the Sixers’ fortunes.
But that’s neither here nor there. The Sixers will have the cap space to re-sign Hield, but if the price is too high, they might pivot elsewhere to find that three-point shooter.
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