Buddy Hield can be an enforcer for the Pelicans, even as a rookie

More important than gold or glamour, Buddy Hield’s ability to demand attention on and off the court could be the key to a successful rookie year and an encouraging future for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The battle for a fan in generating expectations for any hyped-up addition is how to derive the proper handicap, staying objective (if that’s your wont) and realistic (if that’s your thing) as much as is humanly possible while also understanding that it’s perfectly okay to scream for joy when a good thing happens to your favorite sports team. And hey! This summer, something happened to one of my favorite sports teams! The New Orleans Pelicans drafted NCAA superduperstar Buddy Hield with the sixth overall pick in June’s NBA Draft.

About a month ago, I made the case for the Pelicans’ betterment as a result of Buddy’s potential lack of Rookie of the Year hardware. But looking back now, I think it’s short-sighted to declare such things with no sample upon which we can logically base those conclusions. There exist a dozen realities in which the spacing and firepower that Hield brings to the table are the perfect pinch of cinnamon in this team’s gumbo, just as there are a dozen more than would act as a rotten egg in that same stew.

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Spacing has become the central tenet of most offensive systems in today’s NBA, and Hield has earned the respect and focus that comes with a top shooter in the league. He’ll occupy a defender, allowing the team to isolate different things away from him to take advantage. If Buddy can continue to improve upon a stellar collegiate career, he’ll have every opportunity himself to bend the defense back the other way and find his way into easy buckets. Buckets are valuable!

Further, with Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter both still in extended stays at the trainer’s’ table, there are many lineups in which the easiest and best way to get talent onto the floor is to play three of the Pelicans’ talented crop of guards together. Buddy’s shooting and length make him an ideal candidate to partake in these lineups, defending up a position and overwhelming mismatches when possible. Trusting a rookie with those minutes is unorthodox and risky, but at some point you have to reward a hard-worker and trust him to continue developing skills.

I come then to this question: What constitutes a victorious season for Buddy Hield? Some have argued that the Pelicans’ primary gauge of success this season ought to be the defense, but if that’s how you measure improvement in 2017, Buddy probably won’t be your favorite catalyst. The playoffs are still within reach for the Pelicans, as they are for a number of Western Conference teams ahead of actual games. Alas, Hield likely isn’t ready to be a key contributor down the stretch of the season in the way Quincy Pondexter surprisingly rose to the occasion two seasons ago.

So what then must happen to allow us to definitively say that Hield’s season was a triumph? I believe the answer is a little emotional, not quite measurable, and based on a whole lot of guessing. In my conversation with Ian Levy last week, we spent quite a while puzzling over what exactly causes someone like Anthony Davis struggles to take control of a team and a locker room, and how that might get fixed. The answer could be simple: what if Davis just isn’t that type of guy? It would mean he needs that type of player around him to maximize his own skills.

Buddy Hield has earned all the preseason hype a rookie possibly could this summer, from the “We literally have to lock him out of the gym!” silliness to the love of his veteran teammates. But to truly catch the ear of his teammates and become that vocal and influential presence through both demonstration and demand would be impressive. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility for someone as intrepid as Buddy to earn that love.

And wouldn’t that really be something? Yes, there’s a decent chance Buddy can compete for an All-Rookie team spot by virtue of his opportunity to play on a deep and competitive roster. He’ll probably light up a few opposing arenas throughout the year, and we’ll love him for it. But really, really think on this: When was the last time a rookie really came in and affected a locker room? I don’t mean giggles and gaffes, I mean positive energy. Culture.

The biggest things that Hield’s time at Oklahoma afforded him were maturity and patience. By the time his senior season came around, Hield was the guy. The college process gives young men the opportunity to learn how to be leaders and veterans around the even younger men. Hield mixes that wherewithal into just the right amount of swagger and hum-drumness to make it work.

The new group of New Orleans Pelicans needs a leader, or two. Buddy has the tools to improve the team, and the experiences to draw from to lead them. There is not a single person around the New Orleans Pelicans franchise who would not be better off if Hield’s first-season impact came more off the court than on it.

Next: Tim Frazier season outlook

Accolades and recognition are nice, but to set up the franchise for future success and empower individual pieces of a franchise too long stuck treading water could be the true victory of the 2016-17 season.

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