Rick Carlisle responds to Buddy Hield's comments about tenure with the Indiana Pacers
By Ryan Stano
Buddy Hield was traded by the Sacramento Kings to the Pacers two seasons ago. He came with Tyrese Haliburton and Tristan Thompson to Indiana, although Thompson would soon be waived. That left Hield and Haliburton as players for the Indiana Pacers for the next couple of years.
Haliburton was obviously the prize in that trade, but Hield was a solid player too. His ability to shoot from three opened things up for everyone else on the court. Even this season, Hield was able to draw defenders out to the perimeter to open up drives to the pain for Haliburton and others.
Hield was traded to Philadelphia at the deadline and his time in Indiana ended. Hield is now starting for a team that is in playoff contention. His role was changing day-by-day with the Pacers and he said as much while speaking to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.
Rick Carlisle responds to Buddy Hield's comments about the Indiana Pacers
Prior to taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night, Carlisle was asked about Hield's comments. He mentioned that while he hasn't seen all of them, that he loved Buddy while he was in Indy. He said that the organization wanted to keep him but had to to what's best for the player.
To put this into context, Hield requested a trade before the season started once they realized the Pacers weren't going to re-sign him to a number that he thought was fair. Hield also thought he should still be a starter-level player so he wanted a bigger role somewhere else.
I don't blame Hield for wanting to start somewhere else. I also don't blame the Pacers for not wanting to re-sign him. Hield is on the other side of 30 and has never been a strong defensive player. That's not what a backcourt that already has a bad defensive player in Haliburton needs. Although, the return on the trade hasn't been great so far.
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Buddy did mention that he loved his teammates and enjoyed playing in Indiana. Carlisle mentioned that not many organizations try to put a player in a better situation and do what's best for them. Both of them are right. It was a mutual parting that needed to happen that put both the organization and the player in a good spot.