Buddy Hield may be quickly running out of time at the Golden State Warriors, having failed to capitalize on fortunate playing time against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon.
With the trade deadline quickly nearing in just over a month, Hield needs to take advantage of every opportunity to ensure he and his $9.2 million salary aren't shipped out in a deal over the coming weeks.
Buddy Hield is quickly running out of time at the Warriors
After an incredibly underwhelming start to the season, Hield's run of 122-straight games with Golden State (including playoffs) was snapped just over a week ago when he received a DNP against the Phoenix Suns.
Outside of three garbage time minutes in a blowout win over the Orlando Magic, Hield also found himself out of the rotation over the next two games. Fortunately, a back-to-back came at the right time for the 33-year-old who was ushered back into the fold purely thanks to De'Anthony Melton being rested ahead of Monday's matchup with the Nets in Brooklyn.
Hield subsequently saw just over 14 minutes off the bench, but they were hardly impactful as he had just three points, three rebounds and an assist while committing a rather lazy turnover early in the fourth-quarter when the Warriors were up 10 and seemingly in control of the game.
Hield took just two shots, both from 3-point range in which he connected on one. Perhaps that's a positive in that he wasn't pushing to get shots up at a time where he needed to make a statement, but on the other hand he's also not overly effective if he's not getting field-goal attempts and putting the ball in the basket.
With Melton set to return against one of his former teams (albeit he never played a single game for the Nets) on Monday at Barclays Center, Hield may find himself straight back out of the rotation. That might also be dependant on whether 2x MVP Stephen Curry takes to the floor, with the 37-year-old playing 41 minutes in the overtime loss on Sunday.
Hield's recent place out of the rotation makes him a likely trade candidate leading into the deadline, particularly in combination with Jonathan Kuminga's $22.5 million salary which could net Golden State a $30+ million player if they're willing to throw in the necessary draft capital depending on who the player is.
Hield isn't a guarantee to be traded like most assume Kuminga will be, but he needs to take advantage of any opportunity he gets in a way he failed to do in Toronto.