The biggest story of the Nuggets’ offseason was losing Peyton Watson in the long, played-out, restricted free-agency saga that ended in a sign-and-trade. But another loss that garnered much less attention but will hurt Denver nearly as much in the short term was losing Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency to the Heat.
THJ was a marvelous fit in Denver, providing much-needed floor spacing and shooting for a Nuggets team that was hurting for three-point shooting. He had no problem letting it fly and ended up being one of the team’s most reliable offensive players over the course of the season.
None of the team’s additions this offseason are going to be able to come close to replacing the three-point volume that Hardaway Jr. added, and with the loss of Michael Porter Jr. a year earlier, the team is suddenly lacking a real outside threat beyond Jamal Murray, who’s their primary ball handler.
Nuggets' offense still badly lacking three-point shooting
Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic are good shooters, but they are guys who are reluctant to launch and would rather hurt you in other ways. The defense is forced to respect it, but they aren’t exactly running those guys off the line. Cam Johnson is probably the closest thing they have to a true movement shooter, but he has been up and down, and the team needs a lot more from him than just spacing.
It would be great to have a dead-eye sniper come off the bench and give defenses something to worry about for a few minutes a night, but until now, nothing has really presented itself. But that could change, as the Hawks have traded Buddy Hield to the Hornets, who are expected to waive the 33-year-old Bahamian.
Hield is a career 39.5% three-point shooter on 7.3 attempts per game, and while his best days are behind him, he could absolutely give you some solid bench minutes and knock down wide-open shots with Jokic and Murray creating for him. The Nuggets already have a lot of one-dimensional role players and defensive liabilities, so why not add one more?
Hield could be Nuggets' Tim Hardaway Jr. replacement
At least Hield is a guy who will scare the defense and force them to react. Regardless of how washed up he may be, nobody is going to leave him open. And that spacing could be paramount for a Denver offense that already creates so many advantages but badly needs more shooting.
Also, it’s hard to imagine Hield would cost much. They could almost certainly bring him in on a minimum deal and see how the fit looks. They’ve dished out much worse contracts to worse players in recent years, and if nothing else, we know that Buddy possesses one elite skill that is extremely useful in the NBA.
Considering the team is strapped for options and flexibility, they should be digging into every possibility to gain an edge on the margins. They did it with DeMar DeRozan for a veteran scorer and creator, and they can do it again with Hield for a veteran sharpshooter.
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