1 factor could ‘complicate’ Buddy Hield trade for Indiana Pacers

The most recent trade rumor sweeping the NBA landscape has the Indiana Pacers at the center of it, as they are supposedly looking to trade veteran guard Buddy Hield.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the decision came after Hield and the Pacers failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension. Hield, who is entering the final year of his deal, will now hit the trade market.

Teams will undoubtedly be hoping to add the three-point sniper to their rotation, as Charania even reported that some teams have shown an interest in striking a deal.

1 factor could ‘complicate’ Buddy Hield trade for Indiana Pacers

However, it seems as though a trade could be harder to come by than the Pacers might hope.

According to long-time NBA insider Marc Stein and his newsletter “The Stein Line,” getting a deal done could be complicated, as teams around the league may be worried about losing Hield in free agency next summer.

“The handful of execs I spoke to post-show were unanimous in their view that Hield’s looming free agency, with only this coming season left on his current contract at $19.3 million, will complicate Indiana’s efforts to generate offers that feature more than multiple second-round picks attached to the contract(s) needed to match Hield’s salary,” Stein wrote.

In Charania’s initial report, he noted that one of the reasons the Pacers and Hield weren’t able to come to an agreement on an extension was because the offer Indiana made caused Hield to feel “undesired.”

With that in the back of their minds, interested teams will certainly be considering how much Hield may want in free agency next year before they attempt to trade for him.

On top of that, some of the teams who could be interested in acquiring Hield’s services may not have the money to pay him next offseason. Either that, or they could be looking to keep money off the books in hopes of making a splash.

Regardless, if the Pacers are hoping to get a first-round pick back in exchange for Hield, they will have to find the perfect destination. It could be out there, but getting a deal done won’t be easy if that is their asking price.