Trade Deadline Redirect? Hield Could Still End Up with Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks missed out on Caris LeVert, but maybe they will pivot to Buddy Hield, who finds himself with the Indiana Pacers now after Tuesday’s NBA trade madness.

Dalton Trigg | Feb 9, 2022

With less than 30 hours to go until the NBA trade deadline buzzer, the Dallas Mavericks are still working the phones trying to find reasonable deals to upgrade their roster. After being traded to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, could Buddy Hield end up being redirected to the Mavs before Thursday’s deadline?

"The [Indiana] Pacers are open to flipping Buddy Hield to another team before the deadline,” reports HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

According to a separate report from Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Mavs were 'in at the 11th hour' in pursuit of a trade with the Indiana Pacers to acquire Caris LeVert. The Cleveland Cavaliers ended up getting a deal done—sending Ricky Rubio's expiring contract, a 2022 first-round pick and two second-round picks.

Those talks with Indiana reportedly revolved around Tim Hardaway Jr. and a pick. We don’t know if it was a first-round or a second-round pick that was offered, but if the Mavs were serious about getting LeVert while also getting off of Hardaway Jr.’s contract, one would think - or hope - that it was indeed a first-rounder.

Would that same type of team be enough for the Mavs to snag Hield, who is a career 40 percent three-point shooter and the all-time three-point leader in Sacramento Kings history? With the Pacers’ backcourt of the future being set with Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte, we believe a deal for Hield is very doable for Dallas before the deadline.

Although the Mavs are on a three-game winning streak and getting inspired play from Reggie Bullock in Hardaway Jr.’s absence, Dallas could still use some three-point shooting help mixed in with their great team defense. Hield is not a good defender, but he’s sniper on offense, and playing alongside Luka Doncic will result in many open looks.

Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for all updates as the Mavs get closer to the deadline.

Published Feb 9, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.