Meet the New Orleans Pelicans New Buddy

The New Orleans Pelicans have a new Buddy in town as they selected Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield with the sixth pick in the NBA Draft.

Last night weeks and weeks of speculation finally came to a close. In a night full of twist and turns the New Orleans Pelicans would stand pat in the first round, drafting their guy in Buddy Hield.

Hield by no means is a surprise pick, in fact he is the player many fans yearned for thus making the pick a win win for both management and the fanbase.  When it comes to the selection of Hield, he was someone the Pelicans thought extremely high of as evidenced by this quote from Dell Demps.

Coming from a general manager who has traded draft picks with no hesitation in previous years this quote makes it quite obvious that Buddy was the Pelicans guy. This should not be surprising considering Dell Demps well known appreciation for NBA ready prospects rather than younger players who may not be able to contribute right away.

So, when the choice came down to Jamal Murray and Buddy Hield for the New Orleans Pelicans it was likely an easy one, and one that most should’ve seen coming. Now, was it the right one? Too early to tell and at this point it doesn’t matter because Buddy Hield is going to be a terrific basketball player for the Pelicans.

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Hield is a seamless fit in New Orleans, with Eric Gordon pretty much all but gone. They just drafted his immediate replacement at half the price. Buddy’s upside has been knocked but make no mistake about it, he can step in day one and knockdown threes for this team.

Now, there have been questions about whether Buddy will be able to get his shot off against bigger opponents. During his interview after being selected, however, he offered a perfect response to these claims saying, “College is so different from the NBA. You have three guys coming at you and trapping all over the place, and NBA is different. There’s more space.”

Buddy Hield brings up some excellent points. As he mentions that playing with Anthony Davis, he won’t be the focal point for defenses anymore and will allow AD more space to operate inside with the threat of his shooting .

This is an ideology that is being adopted more and more across the league. If a team wants to successfully play fast and have good ball movement, good floor spacing is an essential trait. Buddy, at his worst will provide this which makes him a very safe pick for the Pelicans. Hield fills an immediate need for the Pelicans with his shooting ability and scoring, but also with his marketability.  Buddy Hield may be just what the Pelicans need on and off the court.

Unless you lived under a rock last season, you witnessed Buddy Hield take the nation by storm with countless jaw dropping performances that transformed him into a household name. Buddy became a captivating figure with his marksman like shooting. In the NBA where the Warriors were breaking hearts with each dagger three, Buddy was capturing them.

I myself was guilty of this, when I watched LSU and Oklahoma go at each other down the stretch I couldn’t help but marvel at the way Buddy Hield just kept coming with dagger threes to lead his team from behind in a hostile environment. Bottom line, Buddy Hield is box office.

For a team that struggled with local tv ratings last year and seems to always play second banana to the Saints they needed someone who will sell tickets and generate interest, Buddy does that. Not to mention that Buddy has a whole country of supporters behind him.

It really is a win-win situation for the New Orleans Pelicans, they get a good player who can help contribute on the court and a player who can help enhance their brand off it as well.

Now for those who are not familiar with Buddy Hield and what he has done in college here is a little bit of intel. Hield is a senior from Oklahoma who improved each year, and finally blew up his senior for a monstrous season where he averaged 25 points, on 46 percent shooting from behind the arc, which is good for a ridiculous 66 true shooting percentage.

Now, Hield was a undoubtedly a scoring machine last year at Oklahoma, and even displayed a craftiness around the rim but he did struggle mightily with taking care of the ball and did not do much in the way of finding his teammates. Hield averaged 3.1 TO to only 2 assists, which is really bad.

Not saying that will be important when it comes to his role with the Pelicans, because with a point guard like Jrue Holiday, Hield will not be asked to create as much for himself. It just highlights that he may struggle with his handle and won’t really add much to the team in terms of passing ability.

The biggest positive to take away from Buddy Hield season besides his knockdown shooting is his defense. In a league where “Three-and-D” guys are being valued at a premium, the Pelicans may have just drafted an elite player in that regard.

Hield is 6’5 with a 6’9 wingspan, which is pretty good, and his defensive numbers at Oklahoma show that he has the ability to match his length. In his junior year Hield posted an elite 94.2 defensive rating. This past year it spiked to 101.5 but Hield still showed many flashes of his defensive potential, like in this clip.

This is just one example of Hield ability to defend and Dell Demps alluded to it possibly being the reason Hield stood out over similar prospects like Jamal Murray.

So much has been made about Buddy Hield’s age and it limiting his ceiling but in a league that is devoid of deep talent at the shooting guard, when you have the chance to grab a player who can make a shot off the catch or off the dribble it is really tough to find fault in the Pelicans pick.

Or you can find Buddy spotting up in transition, which should happen a lot considering how much the Pelicans intend to push the tempo.

And finally, here’s this one, which is just ridiculous considering how fast he is able to get into his shooting motion and rise. The quick release is what separates Buddy from other prospects in terms of shooting.

Hield by no means is a perfect prospect but it is hard to argue the fit. Jamal Murray is younger and may turn out to be the better pro. Still, considering the Pelicans needs and what was available for them at 6, its hard to fault them for the pick.

New Orleans may have solidified their shooting guard spot for the future and worst case scenario they have added another shooter. Now, as for the player you have to think this is the best situation for Buddy Hield and while everyone likes to talk about ceiling, its hard not to see a little Klay Thompson in his game.

From the quick trigger, to the lack of passing, to the defensive abilities, the potential is there. Now, who knows if Buddy will ever reach that level but it’s tough to believe that there was a better team that Buddy could have been picked by to unlock it.

Next: New Orleans Pelicans select Cheick Diallo After Second Round Trade

Klay Thompson was not the electric shooter he is today when he came into the league. A lot of it was of course his hard work, but also a lot of it was being allowed the freedom to shoot. With Alvin Gentry having coached Klay Thompson, he could recognize this and give Buddy the freedom to play his game. Time will tell what the results will be, but for now New Orleans, he’s our Buddy.