After a wild start to the 2016 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans got Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield with the sixth pick.
The Naismith Player of the Year averaged 25 points a game and 5.7 boards a game his senior year as he led the Sooners to a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament run he led Oklahoma on is seen as a big reason the Hield’s stock rose.
Strengths:
Incredible From Behind the Arc: One of the player comparisons many scouts have made with Hield has been Steph Curry. And that comparison is justifiable based off of his senior season which saw him draining a phenomenal 147 3-pointers. The last player to have that many threes in a season in college? Steph Curry. But Hield isn’t just a high-volume shooter from the three-point line, he’s pretty accurate as well with 46% accuracy his senior season.
Great Handles: His ball-handling skills have vastly improved over the years and that might be what the Pelicans need to get themselves back on the winning track in the 2016-17 season rather than get one of the many one-and-done players like Jamal Murray.
Weaknesses:
Poor on Defense: Based off of what I’ve seen from Hield, he’s not particularly great on defense. And this Pelicans team is already not the best when it comes to that aspect of the game. That being said, Hield has improved a bit, and apparently that was enough for the Pels to take a chance on him.
A Little Too Predictable: He’s not the best in the world when it comes to facilitating the ball and can be a little too predictable as he has a tendency to pull up off a dribble. That may be a problem as he enters the league.
-Clint Domingue
