Buddy Hield

After joining the Pacers midway through the 2021-22 season, Hield finds himself in a very familiar situation. Despite the upheaval, Hield ended the season inside the top 100 of eight-category fantasy producers thanks to averages of 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 3.2 three-pointers. After peaking at rank 38 in 2018-19, this feels like the safe range for Hield and dictates where managers should be targeting him. One thing he has in his favor is that he has been very durable over the past few years, no matter his role. He has played in at least 71 games in five straight seasons, making him a consistent top-50 asset when gauging total value. While he probably shouldn't be drafted in that range, it is reassuring to know that he will serve as a solid plug-and-play option on most nights.

Hield's production took a slight step back in 2020-21, but he maintained his reputation as one of the league's premier three-point shooters. He made the second-most threes (282) in the NBA at a 39.1 percent clip. That led to 16.6 points per game, and Hield also averaged 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists. However, the points were a significant dip from his 2019-20 mark of 19.9 points, and it led to his fantasy value dropping from 53rd to 77th on a per-game basis. Hield's shot diet became even more reliant on threes, which also hurt his overall field-goal percentage (40.6%). He took 58 percent of his shots from distance two years ago, and that increased to 72 percent last year. Heading into 2021-22, Hield will remain an elite three-point threat, but his role is somewhat in jeopardy. Tyrese Haliburton's emergence puts pressure on Hield, and the Kings also drafted guard Davion Mitchell -- a much better defender than Hield. There have been rumors that Hield is on the trading block, but unless something actually comes to fruition before the season, drafting Hield is somewhat of a risk. He still unquestionably needs to be selected before pick 100, but expecting him to return to fifth-round value seems farfetched.

Hield's reputation as an elite three-point shooter continued in 2019-20, as the shooting guard hit 3.8 threes per game at a 39.4 percent clip, contributing to his 19.2 points per game. Hield also added 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 30.8 minutes. Those averages weren't steady, however, as Hield's role changed dramatically late in the season. Prior to the All-Star break, he started 44 of 54 games, averaging 20.4 points in 33.4 minutes. After the break, he started none of his 18 appearances, averaging 15.6 points in 22.9 minutes as he fell out of favor with coach Luke Walton. Given Hield's strong play over the past two seasons, the reduced role was surprising to many, especially fantasy managers who were unfortunate enough to have him on their roster during that stretch. The situation makes it tough to gauge Hield's draft stock for 2020-21, as there has been no clarification regarding what we can expect playing-time wise. However, with Bogdan Bogdanovic moving on to Atlanta, it seems possible Hield will get his starting role back, unless Luke Walton takes a liking to Tyrese Haliburton.

Hield has been a model of health through his first three years in the league, only missing two games. Last season was a breakout for the former No. 6 overall pick, as he set career highs in points (20.7), assists (2.5), rebounds (5.0), free-throw percentage (88.6), field-goal percentage (45.8) and made threes (3.4). Hield has emerged into one of the league's elite threats from long range. His 278 total hits from deep ranked fourth in 2018-19, and his career three-point percentage (41.9) is seventh among all active players. Hield has some big games under his belt, too, cracking the 30-point mark in seven games last season. Heading into 2019-20, Hield should maintain the same role with the Kings, so we shouldn't be surprised if he repeats his efforts from last year. While fantasy owners won't get much from Hield in terms of supplementary stats, his elite scoring ability from distance means he's still a great fantasy option.

2017-18 marked Hield’s second year in the league after being drafted sixth overall in 2016. He garnered sixth-man run in his 80 appearances (12 starts) with the Kings last season, seeing 25.3 minutes per tilt. He was one of the league’s best three-point shooters, hitting 2.2 per game at 43.1 percent en route to 13.5 points. Hield also filled out some supplementary stats, averaging 3.8 boards, 1.9 dimes and 1.1 steals. He put together some bigger games as well, posting 13 games with at least 20 points, five with at least five assists, and 10 with at least three steals. While he’s shown legitimate upside, it won't be easy for Hield to garner a bigger role this season. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin Jackson are still options for Sacramento on the wing, and are each likely to see similar run to 2017-18. That said, even if Hield’s numbers don't see much improvement this season, he’s still worth consideration in the mid-to-late rounds of Fantasy drafts.

Hield began his rookie year last season as a member of the Pelicans, garnering 20.4 minutes per game, before being dealt to Sacramento as part of the trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans. After joining the Kings, Hield saw his time on the floor make a significant jump, rising to 29.1 minutes per contest. While he was a fringe Fantasy option on the Pelicans, his move to the Kings not only came with increased playing time, but increased efficiency and production overall. He saw his effective field-goal percentage bounce from 48.7 up to 57.9 and his points rise from 8.6 to 15.1 per game. His 2.4 made threes per game on the Kings also turned him into a legitimate Fantasy threat in formats that account for the stat. The 6-foot-4 guard didn’t provide much value as far as supplementary statistics, posting just 4.1 boards and 1.8 assists per game, but his quick trigger finger ensured he was always in the running for a 20-plus point outburst. Though the Kings added some backcourt depth over the offseason, the Kings are notably high on Hield’s potential, nearly ensuring he’ll see a similar workload during the 2017-18 campaign as he did last season with the team.

With the expectation that they wouldn’t be able to retain top marksmen Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon in free agency, the Pelicans addressed their need for three-point shooting by scooping up Hield with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Oklahoma standout took home the Wooden Award in 2015-16, averaging 25.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while posting otherworldly shooting marks of 50.1 percent from the field, 45.7 percent from three-point land and 88 percent from the charity stripe. The mark from distance was arguably the most impressive of them all, considering Hield put up a whopping 8.7 attempts per game. As a four-year player who often looked unchallenged at the collegiate level, Hield is viewed as one of the more pro-ready prospects in his draft class. The problem is that he didn’t really show as much in five summer league contests for the Pelicans, averaging 16.8 points per game, but turning the ball over 2.8 times per game and hitting only 32.7 and 22.9 percent of his attempts from the field and from downtown, respectively. That small sample shouldn’t be taken as evidence that Hield’s game won’t translate to the next level, though it does illustrate the difficulties prospects of any caliber face with the transition to the NBA. With the projected backcourt starters Jrue Holiday (personal) and Tyreke Evans (knee) expected to miss the first several weeks of the season, Hield will have the opportunity to challenge for the Pelicans’ starting gig at shooting guard, but he’ll need to perform far better in training camp than he did in summer league to claim those duties. If that proves too much to ask, Hield could find himself on the fringe of the rotation to start the season, with Tim Frazier, E’Twaun Moore, Langston Galloway and Lance Stephenson all threats to take minutes from him. Hield’s upside still probably remains higher than all four of those players, but before investing, it’s imperative to track his production during the preseason in order to suss out what his role be to open the year.