Where Will Buddy Hield Go in the 2016 NBA Draft?
By Chip Rouse
Which NBA jersey will Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield be wearing next fall?
That seems like a strange question to be asking on the eve of the annual National Football League Draft, but it is one that is very relevant and timely to Sooner fans, even if the NBA Draft isn’t for another couple of months.
This weekend belongs to Sterling Shepard, Eric Striker and other Oklahoma Sooner NFL draft prospects, but there is just as much interest in the Sooner Nation and elsewhere among college and professional basketball fans in what the future holds for Sooner All-American and Naismith and Wooden Award winner Buddy Hield.
The consensus among NBA draft and college basketball experts is that the player they call “Buddy Buckets” will go somewhere in the first six selections when the NBA Draft is held on June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
ESPN’s resident NBA expert Chad Ford ranks Hield as the No. 1 shooting guard in the 2017 draft and believes he would be an excellent fit for the New Orleans Pelicans, who have the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft. The problem is, it is unlikely that the OU superstar will still be available when New Orleans’ time on the clock comes around.
Ford lists Hield’s attributes as an excellent shooter who has shown dramatic improvements the last couple of seasons, a good rebounder and someone with an excellent basketball IQ.
On the negative side, however, he says Hield is undersized for his position at the next level, he needs to attack and finish at the rim more and needs to improve on defense.
Penetrating and taking the ball to the basket became more a part of Hield’s game this past season and is obviously something he wanted to do more of when he elected to forgo leaving for the NBA after his junior season.
Mission accomplished. I believe Hield’s notable improvement in that area, along with his athleticism and exceptional perimeter shooting skill, are the difference in his being a top-five pick in this year’s draft as opposed to being a late first-round or even a second-round selection had he decided to leave early for the NBA a year ago.
Ben Simmons, a power forward who was a one-and-done player at LSU, and the same with small forward Brandon Ingram of Duke are generally regarded as the top two players who will be selected in the NBA Draft in June, and some mock NBA drafts, including USA Today-affiliated HoopsHype.com, have OU’s Hield going with the third overall pick to the Boston Celtics (who selected Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State with the sixth overall pick in round one a year ago).
We will have to wait until June 23 for the final outcome in the Buddy Hield lottery, but one thing is fairly certain: The Sooner All-American and No. 3 all-time scorer will join the company of former Sooners Garfield Heard (No. 6 overall), Alvan Adams (4), Wayman Tisdale (2), Stacey King (6) and Blake Griffin (1) as high first-round NBA draft picks.