Reliable $9.4 Million Hawks Guard Quietly Made Available To Contenders As Klay Thompson Future Stalls

ATLANTA — $9.4 million Hawks guard, Buddy Hield, is available in trade talks per Evan Sidery. The Atlanta Hawks sit over the roster limit and hope the 34-year-old could net an asset in return. Hield’s contract includes a $10 million player option for the 2027-28 season.

Reliable $9.4 Million Hawks Guard Quietly Made Available To Contenders As Klay Thompson Future Stalls

Buddy Hield joined the Hawks midseason in a deal that sent Kristaps Porziņģis to Golden State. Across the full 2025-26 season he averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.1 minutes over 51 games while shooting 34.9 percent from three. With the Warriors he posted 8.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 17.5 minutes across 44 games. In seven games with Atlanta those numbers fell to 5.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 7.3 minutes.

Hield made just 74 three-pointers on the year. That marked the first time in his career he failed to reach the 100-mark from deep. Those low averages could be hinting at the player he has become. Worryingly, two teams in need of offense both moved on from him.

Any team that takes on his expiring deal will hope to see more of the version he showed a year earlier with Golden State. From cleaningtheglass.com data he ranked in the 74th percentile in points per 100 possessions during the 2024-25 season. That production made him a reliable floor spacer then.

The $9.4 million Hawks guard is one of the most prolific three-point shooters in league history. He has made more than 2200 career threes. With Klay Thompson’s future still unresolved, Buddy Hield could become the next best thing for contenders that need shooting. The reality is that Hield acts as a turnstile on defense. That weakness will only get worse with time. He stands as a one-trick pony for any contender that acquires him.

Buddy Hield’s Limited Market

The Miami Heat need shooting around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. They cannot use their remaining non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth $8.9 million because it falls short of Hield’s contract. Outside of that situation there is no real market for the deal. No team holds a player in the same salary range that it would prefer to move. Teams with access to the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth $15.0 million lack the room under the first apron to use it.

Buddy Hield therefore sits in a very limited market for his services. The Hawks could still waive him if no taker emerges. Contenders that value pure shooting may still check in on him before camp opens. His track record of volume threes gives them reason to look. Yet the defensive limitations and recent production decline mean the fit must be exact. The $9.4 million Hawks guard has the shot to help a contender if the right match appears. Atlanta will continue shopping him while the rest of the league weighs the cost against the upside.