Amid the whirlwind of Klay Thompson's departure from the franchise at the start of the month, the Golden State Warriors should be commended for quickly pivoting into signing three valuable rotation players on what appear like team-friendly deals.
The Warriors added De'Anthony Melton on a one-year, $12.8 million contract, before signing Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield to deals that were ultimately lumped with Thompson's move to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a six-team trade.
Buddy Hield was the last of the Golden State Warriors three notable signings, but the 31-year-old sharpshooter may prove the most valuable
Anderson is a known veteran commodity who should thrive in the Golden State system, and Melton's valued is almost assured so long as the 26-year-old can get over the back injuries that limited him to 38 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season.
Hield, despite being a veteran himself at this point, is arguably less of a guarantee given the major question marks on his defense. There will be times where he's played off the floor as a result, particularly in the playoffs as seen last season where he saw just less than 30 total minutes through the first five games of the 76ers first-round series against the Knicks.
He could also prove to be the most valuable of the Warriors three new additions. Thompson's departure leaves a huge hole in three-point shooting on the roster, with Hield now the primary player to try and fill that void.
No one has made more threes in the league over the past five seasons than the Bahamian sharpshooter, while he's nailed exactly 40% of attempts from beyond the arc across his career. No one made more than 1.4 threes per game on the Golden State roster last season outside Thompson and Stephen Curry -- Hield has averaged at least 3.2 three-point makes in each of the five years before last.
Hield may be more bench rotation piece than starting-caliber player these days, but he can still prove impactful as evidenced by Game 6 against the Knicks (Philadelphia's last game of the season) in which he had 20 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting.
The former sixth overall pick will be important, perhaps more so than Melton and Anderson. In outlining the Warriors roster and possible rotation entering next season, Monte Poole of NBC Sports predicts Hield will play between 22-28 minutes, while Melton will be playing 18-25 and Anderson 16-22.
It will vary from game-to-game based on form and matchups, but that prediction nevertheless underlines Hield's potential value to a team very much in need of more outside shooting beyond Curry.