Things haven't particularly panned out for Buddy Hield since his departure from the Golden State Warriors, and that continued on Tuesday as the veteran sharpshooter was traded to the Charlotte Hornets.
As reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, the Atlanta Hawks have sent Hield and young guard Ryan Nembhard to the Hornets in exchange for veteran wing Dorian Finney-Smith.
Buddy Hield's post-Warriors career suffers blow with Hornets trade
On the surface it might be a good move for Hield considering he wasn't part of the Hawks' plans. The 33-year-old was out of Quin Synder's rotation following February's trade that landed the Warriors veteran center Kristaps Porzingis. While Atlanta did fully guarantee Hield's contract prior to free agency, it was only to be used in a trade as we've now seen.
However, a deeper look at Charlotte's roster suggests Hield will now simply be stuck in a similar position. They've already got their wings of the future with Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, while the Hornets also landed Grayson Allen in a deal from the Phoenix Suns earlier in the offseason.
The presence of those three players, and the Hornets' general youth movement after trading LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, makes it difficult to see Hield getting much opportunity in Charles Lee's rotation.
After averaging nearly 23 minutes in his first year with the Warriors that included a memorable Game 7 performance against the Houston Rockets in the first-round of the playoffs, Hield's career has since been in decline. His minutes dropped to less than 18 per game with Golden State at the start of last season where he shot a career-low 34.4% from 3-point range, before appearing in only seven games for the Hawks following the trade.
Warriors-Hawks trade suddenly looks better for both teams
The fact the Hawks were able to flip a non-rotation player for someone they could genuinely utilize if Finney-Smith can get healthy is impressive. It's surprising that the Hornets were willing to make this move without getting a second-round draft pick or two, and particularly given they're reportedly waiving Nembhard.
It suddenly makes the Hawks' initial acquisition of Hield and Jonathan Kuminga look a little better. If Finney-Smith can get back to his best and become a 20-25 minute rotation player, then at least Atlanta can point to getting something from February's trade.
It also makes the outcome look better for the Warriors who did well to get off Hield's contract, while Porzingis is now the only one of the three players involved in the deal who is still with the team he was moved to.
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