Assessing if the Pacers won the Doug McDermott for Buddy Hield trade

The Indiana Pacers made the decision to trade Buddy Hield at the trade deadline. It was an understandable decision when you realize that Hield is going to be a free agent at the end of the year and was unhappy with being relegated to the bench. He wanted a bigger role and wasn't going to re-sign in Indiana.

While none of the pieces the Pacers got from Philadelphia stayed in Indiana, they did get Doug McDermott from the Spurs in a three-team trade. The Pacers were hoping that bringing him back to Indiana could help give them a shooter off the bench to replace what they were losing.

It's been a couple of weeks since the deadline and since the trade happened. Have the Pacers been better off since trading Hield for McDermott?

Let's take a look at the stats for each player since the trade has been made. As of this publication, Hield has played eight games for the 76ers, all as a starter. So far, he has averaged 16.6 points per game on 45% shooting, including 42% shooting from deep. He's also averaging 6 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and a steal per game. He has turned it over some though, giving it away 2.2 times per game.

Now let's look at what McDermott has brought to Indiana. He's played in five games, all off the bench. In those five games, he is averaging just 3.2 points per game. He's shooting just 29% from the field and a putrid 13% from three. McDermott is also hurt now and didn't play on Wednesday against the Pelicans because of a calf strain.

Clearly, the Pacers have not gotten the best out of this trade. I'll go as far as to say that they have lost it. McDermott looks lost out there. Defensively, teams still attack him in the half-court. He's only marginally bigger than Hield so he's only slightly better in that regard.

There's a real shot that McDermott isn't even a part of the rotation when he gets back from injury. Ben Sheppard has been shooting with confidence lately and is a much better defender. Rick Carlisle might opt to keep the rotation at nine players now.

I'll give Kevin Pritchard some credit that at least he didn't lose Hield for nothing in the offseason. They got a couple of second-round picks out of it and McDermott is cheaper. But so far, the trade doesn't look particularly great for the Indiana Pacers.