Rival star’s admission proves the 76ers made the right decision

Over a month following an eventful trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves on a downwards slope in the standings, thanks in large part to Joel Embiid still being out of commission due to injury. Having said that, only a few, if at all, would argue that the team came out as losers since then.

Front and center in Philly’s trade deadline ventures is their acquisition of Buddy Hield, the widely coveted sharpshooter. The 76ers managed to woo the Pacers into giving him up for three second-rounders and salary fillers — a king-sized discount considering the robust demand for his services.

Tyrese Haliburton’s admission proves the 76ers made the right call

Hield was a legitimate flight risk for Indiana, and his waning role signals that the front office will most likely look elsewhere to fill his shoes. They did just that, and Philly ultimately came out as the victors, as Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton recently shed light on why Hield was a big loss for him and his club.

"He’s so prominent in our offense with what we do with a lot of ghost screens and the way we move. His presence shooting on the floor, that opens up a ton for me because you are not going to be in as much in the gap if you’re guarding Buddy because you know how he is as a shooter. So it’s been a little different on the court, obviously."

- Tyrese Haliburton

The 31-year-old was a defining part of the Pacers’ stylings, with his volume three-point shooting being a crucial feature of their top-ranked offense. Since trading him to the 76ers, Indiana has regressed from downtown, with Haliburton badly struggling in particular as he’s converted just 23.8 percent of his threes since the All-Star break.

To compensate, the Pacers have inserted Andrew Nembhard permanently into the starting lineup, but the sophomore guard is simply not from the same ilk as Hield. Already low-volume shooter himself, his middling 34.8 percent conversion rate from downtown hasn’t helped.

Conversely, despite a meager record over that stretch, the 76ers have enjoyed Hield’s topnotch shooting as their resident gunner off the bench. He will be entering what could be a pretty lucrative free agency for him, but the 76ers have full control over his destiny with the franchise in account of them having his Bird rights and the front office having a ton of cap space.

Ultimately, Philly aced the Buddy Hield trade, and the Pacers’ altered dynamics is a giant testament to that.