Mavs, Pacers Have 'No Traction' on Buddy Hield Trade; Full Details

The Mavs and Pacers currently have achieved "no traction" in trade talks involving Buddy Hield, but Dallas is among interested suitors.

DALLAS — Ahead of training camp opening for all 30 NBA teams, one of the various players drawing trade buzz is Indiana Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield. The contract talks with Hield and the Pacers "stalled out" and the two sides have agreed to canvass the trade market for a resolution.  

Hield will draw plenty of interest from trade suitors as he is set to play out the final year of his four-year, $94 million contract. The 30-year-old averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 80 games last season. He remains one of the NBA's truly elite high volume 3-point shooting threats, shooting 

During a Saturday radio show on 97.1 The Freak, NBA insider Marc Stein reported the Dallas Mavericks as being among the various NBA teams as having trade interest in Buddy Hield. At this current stage, there is "no traction" in talks toward a potential agreement.

There are some obstacles the Mavs would encounter when attempting to trade for Hield, including the Pacers' lack of interest in taking back Tim Hardaway Jr.'s contract in return for Hield. Indiana is likely to have the capability of landing a first-round pick in a trade. 

Stein's report comes after NBA insider Shams Charania, the Mavs are among the various teams that have shown trade interest in Hield over the last several months, including the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.

“You look at teams like Dallas, Philly, Milwaukee — those are the types of teams that could definitely use a shooter like Buddy Hield," Charania said. "They’ve had a level of interest in him over the last several months, but of course no deal has happened yet.” 

The Mavs are limited in potential trade frameworks to sufficiently match the $19.3 million salary that Hield will earn in 2023-24. Dallas would likely need to include either Hardaway or Richaun Holmes as a result, which raises complications due to a lack of trade value that either player holds.

The forefront issues the Mavs faced with last year's roster was a lack of execution on defense and rebounding. For reference, the team finished 25th in defensive rating and 30th in total rebounding percentage. A significant factor in the result was as lack of positional size around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. With Hield being just 6-foot-4, there would be similar limitations as there are with playing Hardaway on the wing next to the team's two superstars.