Ever since the blockbuster trade to bring in Pascal Siakam in late January, Kevin Pritchard and the Indiana Pacers had relatively been quiet on trades. However, that changed the morning of the 3:00pm NBA trade deadline on Thursday. Pacers traded shooting guard, Buddy Hield, to the Philadelphia 76ers in the early hours of Thursday. The Pacers would receive Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz, and three second-round picks. Then, later that day it was announced that former Indiana Pacers, Doug McDermott and Cory Joseph, would return to the team via trades. McDermott was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs for Marcus Morris and a second-round pick. The Pacers gave up another of their second-round picks to the Golden State Warriors for Cory Joseph.
The Buddy Hield Pacers Saga
It seemed the trading of Hield was imminent given his role continued to be diminished and rumors were circling the team for months that the eight-year veteran would soon be traded. Hield had a very successful first season in Indianapolis after he was a part of the trade that shipped him and Tyrese Haliburton out of Sacramento. His level of play on the offensive side of ball and chemistry with Haliburton was a welcome addition to this roster.
But in September of 2023, news broke that contract negotiations stopped between Hield and the team. To go along with the trade rumors, Hield’s level of play noticeably declined. Compared to his first season with Indiana, Hield’s minutes played, points per game and three point percentage all dropped this season. This may had been caused by the rise of guards like Benedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard getting more playing time. These reasons led many to believe that he would be traded to another contender soon.
The Reunion
Right before the clock reached 3:00pm, the Pacers traded two second-round picks for some familiar faces. Small forward Doug McDermott returns to a Pacers team as another three-point shooter to replace Hield. McDermott shot 43.9% from beyond the arc and averaged 6 points a game for the Spurs this season. The Pacers trading a second-round pick for McDermott is a good deal and gives them another shooting threat. McDermott played from 2018 to 2021 in Indiana and had career highs in field goal percentage and points per game.
For the final trade before the deadline, Pritchard would look to the Warriors for a deal. The Pacers acquired another former player in point guard Cory Joseph. The 13-year veteran is coming off of one season and his career second-lowest minutes per game with Golden State. Joseph played in the Pacers’ blue-and-gold from 2017 to 2019. He served as the point guard behind Darren Collison and showed some promise off of the bench. Joseph had his career-highs in minutes played, steals, and assist during his time with the Pacers. However, shortly after the trade went through, the Pacers waived Joseph.
Since the Pacers play at home against the Warriors on Thursday night, fans may have to wait until later to see the new roster. The first time that McDermott and Korkmaz will be in the Pacer’s uniform may not be until the February 10th game against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden.
For more on the Pacers activities during the All-Star weekend, check out this article by Derek Hutton!