Seth Curry will officially sign with the Golden State Warriors on Monday for the remainder of the season, bringing an exciting reunion with big brother Stephen after the franchise was forced to briefly part ways with the 35-year-old after preseason.
However, the Curry signing may not be so exciting for every player on the roster, and particularly Buddy Hield who is now on notice and growing as a potential trade candidate following a rough start to the season.
Buddy Hield must be concerned by Seth Curry signing
Hield has failed to deliver as a veteran sharpshooter to begin his second year with Golden State, having averaged a career-low 7.2 points and 2.0 rebounds on just 40.9% shooting from the floor and 30.8% from 3-point range.
While it's unlikely that the younger Curry emerges as a true double-digit scorer for the Warriors, he could certainly deliver far greater efficiency after drilling a career-high 45.6% from 3-point range with the Charlotte Hornets last season.
Curry shoots 43.3% from beyond the arc on his career, ranked eighth all-time and third among current players. Golden State don't have a single player who's shooting 40% or better from 3-point range on at least 2.5 attempts this season, while Curry has done that no less than eight times in his career.
Those numbers suggest the Warriors could do with Curry as part of their rotation, but it's going to have to be at the expense of one or two others in an already guard-heavy mix. Hield is already averaging a career-low 17.5 minutes per game, and now faces even more pressure to retain his role in the rotation with the Curry signing, along with the imminent return of De'Anthony Melton who could be back as soon as next week from his long-term knee injury.
If Hield suddenly starts getting DNPs or is limited to a 10-12 minutes in the rotation, the front office would be left with no choice but to explore how they could use his $9.2 million salary to upgrade elsewhere on the roster.
Hield did show some signs of life with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting against the Utah Jazz at the start of the week, but has since scored just eight points on 13 shots over the last two games.
Now the 32-year-old has a couple more games to respond and make a statement before both Curry and Melton become legitimate threats to overtake him in the Warriors rotation.