What is Buddy Hield’s contract with Pacers? Sharpshooter reportedly on trade market as extension talks stall

Sharpshooter Buddy Hield could be on his way out of the Indiana Pacers following reports of the team failing to negotiate a contract extension with him. His contract is set to expire after this season, and he's seeking an extension.

Heild signed a four-year, $85 million contract extension with the Sacramento Kings in 2019. The extension kicked in during the 2020-21 NBA season, which was his last season for the Kings before he was part of the midseason trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana.

For the upcoming season, he'll earn around $18 million, which will be the final year of his contract extension. Hield averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists for his first full season with the Pacers.

The LA Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly shown interest in pursuing the Bahamian shooting guard.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the news:

"After contract extension negotiations stalled out, Buddy Hield and the Indiana Pacers have started a dialogue to work on finding a potential trade with another team, league sources say."

With that, the Pacers will have to move on with their future without a reliable shooter.

You might also be interested in reading this: Why did Buddy Hield get fined $25,000? Looking into the NBA's reasoning behind penalizing the sharpshooter

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The LA Lakers could trade their starting point guard for Buddy Hield

The Lakers could strengthen their outside shooting by pursuing Buddy Hield now that he's become available. Last summer, he was already rumored to be a trade target for the team as the Lakers were looking to re-construct their team. Now, they have a decent squad, but could also improve what they have.

Hield has proven that he's valuable on the offensive end. Given his time with the Kings and the Pacers, he'll fit perfectly as a spot-up shooter for Los Angeles. Looking at it, the Lakers could trade D'Angelo Russell and have a three-team trade to acquire the 6-foot-4 guard.

Lakers writer Matt Wagner proposed that the Lakers, Pacers and the Utah Jazz could perform a trade. In his proposal, the Lakers would send D'Angelo Russell and a 2025 second-round pick to the Pacers.

The Lakers would then receive Hield, Daniel Theis and a 2026 second-round pick. The Pacers could acquire John Collins, Jarred Vanderbilt and rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Lakers fans' dreams could come true as they've longed for Hield's involvement with the team. While the proposal heavily favors Los Angeles, it's one option that the Pacers could explore in the coming weeks.