There's a brutal time for many veteran players where they become a minimum contract player, and that's just where Buddy Hield is headed after the Golden State Warriors sent him to the Atlanta Hawks before last month's trade deadline.
The problem with becoming a minimum-level player in your thirties is that it comes with a stigma that's hard to shake, and therefore makes it difficult to earn more than that on further contracts.
Buddy Hield is headed to becoming a minimum contract player
Hield already took a major pay reduction to join the Warriors in the 2024 offseason, having previously been on a four-year, $94 million contract that started with the Sacramento Kings, before trades to the Indiana Pacers and then the Philadelphia 76ers.
The veteran sharpshooter signed a four-year, $37.8 million contract with Golden State, but only the first two are fully guaranteed. That leaves Atlanta now with a decision to make on Hield in the offseason, with the choice between guaranteeing his $9.7 million salary, or paying out the $3 million in guaranteed money and moving on.
Despite remaining healthy and available since his arrival at the Hawks, Hield has played just once and for less than five minutes with his new team. That's an obvious sign of where the franchise sees the 33-year-old's future, meaning that an entrance back to free agency is likely unless Atlanta guarantee the contract for a subsequent trade.
If Hield does hit free agency again, it's going to be hard to see another team giving him more than the minimum based on what's going on in Atlanta right now. Given his impact in the league has been dwindling over recent seasons, it would also be surprising to see him get a multi-year contract.
Buddy Hield had remained a regular rotation player with the Warriors
While Hield only has himself to blame for his current situation in Atlanta, there's no doubt he'd prefer to still be in Golden State where he was a regular rotation player, and where he'd likely remain such for the moment given their injury crisis.
Hield had seen a few DNPs toward the end of his tenure with the Warriors, but had still appeared in 44 games this season where he was averaging over 17 minutes. If not for the trade, further playing opportunity could have convinced Golden State to guarantee Hield's contract (even if it was just for a trade), but now his future beyond this season faces even greater uncertainty.