The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahama native Chavano “Buddy” Hield is set to join his fourth National Basketball Association (NBA) team after being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers by the Indiana Pacers yesterday.

The former acquired the three-point marksman in the deal that sent Marcus Morris Jr and Furkan Korkmaz along with three second-round draft picks to the Pacers ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline.

Hield, who is in the final year of his four-year contract, along with the 76ers can both benefit from the latest move.

For the Grand Bahamian, he has bounced between the Pacers’ starting lineup and bench unit ever since contract negotiations stalled between himself and the organisation ahead of the NBA’s training camp.

Now on a new team in desperate need of more scoring after the league’s MVP Joel Embiid went down with a meniscus injury, the senior national basketball player can provide them with a scoring punch from deep.

The Grand Bahamian sharpshooter will be an offensive spark for Philadelphia who are converting just 31 per cent of their three-pointers on the season.

He is one of the league’s premier three-point shooters, canning 40 per cent for his career. Additionally, last season with the Pacers he poured in a career-high 288 made threes.

During his time with Indiana this season, Hield averaged 12 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 44.3 per cent on field goals and 38.4 per cent from three.

He got the starting nod in 28 games this season and scored 13 ppg on 46 per cent shooting from the field and 39.1 per cent from behind the arc. In recent games, the 76ers have been on a three-game skid and have lost seven of the last eight games playing without the services of Embiid. The team previously sat at the third seed in the Eastern Conference but the recent drought has dropped them to 30-20 (win/loss record), good for the fifth position, ahead of Hield’s former team.

Despite the recent stretch, if the 76ers are able to regain their footing in the conference, it will be Hield’s first time making the playoffs in his eight year NBA career.

Hield is set to be a free agent at the end of this regular season. The 31-year-old veteran has averaged 15.7 ppg, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists for his career.

Along with Hield, the 76ers acquired former Milwaukee Bucks guard Cameron Payne and a future second-round draft pick. Also, they received a 2024 second-round pick from the Boston Celtics.

The seasoned veteran’s newest team will take the floor at the Wells Fargo Center today versus the Atlanta Hawks at 7pm.