The Golden State Warriors acquisition of De’Anthony Melton on a one-year, $12.8 million contract has already been dubbed the ‘steal of the offseason’, but it appears one of his new teammates could also lay claim to that throne.
Whereas Melton is under contract for a single season before he reassesses his value as a free agent, the Warriors have more long-term security in Buddy Hield’s four-year, $37.8 million deal that includes both team and player options across the final two years.
Hield and Kyle Anderson were acquired in a six-team sign-and-trade that saw Klay Thompson depart for the Dallas Mavericks earlier this month, with the 31-year-old now seen as the primary piece to replace Thompson’s three-point shooting next season.
It’s quite a discount based on Hield’s previous four-year, $94 million contract during which time he played with the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and most recently the Philadelphia 76ers. During the span he averaged 15.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists, shooting 39.2% from three-point range on 8.5 attemps per game.
In a recent podcast episode ranking the top 10 best value free agency signings, Taylor Wyman of BBall Index evaluated Hield at number one based on a contract he labels as ‘insane’.
“But he is an elite three-point shooter who’s done it on volume and can get you a pretty good amount of production point-wise per game. This, it just doesn’t make sense to me. The value is insane. Four years, $9.4 million annually for Buddy Hield going to Golden State? Man. That was a deal.”
Golden State’s deep roster means Hield could be a seventh or eighth man in the rotation, but he nonetheless presents as the team’s leading go-to scorer off the bench (assuming Jonathan Kuminga earns a starting role).
A lack of spacing could also thrust the former sixth overall pick into a starting role, though Melton or impressive young guard Brandin Podziemski are currently the leading candidates to partner Stephen Curry in the back court.
There’s little doubt Hield’s contract is a low-risk, high-upside play for the Warriors who will hope his defensive concerns are outweighed by the elite three-point shooting and capacity as a spark plug off the bench.
