The ongoing NBA Off-Season saw another major trade taking place, as the Golden State Warriors took in eight-year veteran Buddy Hield. The decision to engage in the sign-and-trade deal was made by his previous franchise, the Philadelphia 76ers after the player barely played 32 games with them over three months. The Warriors, however, were not the only franchise looking to acquire the player, as LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers also had their eye on the small forward. In the end, longtime NBA analyst Chris Broussard believes that the final decision boiled down to one key reason.

A few hours ago, the 55-year-old commentator appeared on another segment of ‘First Things First’. Touching base on Buddy Hield favoring the Warriors over the Lakers, he stated his belief that the veteran player possesses the mindset that neither of the two franchises can possess the championship trophy next year. In such a situation, Hield would be better off losing alongside Stephen Curry and co than the alternative.

“If you don’t win in LA, you’re the problem, and you get the blame. If you don’t win in Golden State, you just don’t win in Golden State,” said Broussard. “That’s a big difference, like if you, cause whenever LeBron doesn’t win, everybody else gets blamed.” While the commentator agreed that LeBron James has faced his share of blame over the last couple of years, he also stated that times have changed and that several of LeBron’s teammates, probably except for Austin Reaves, are being looked at “sideways.”

This isn’t the first time that Chris Broussard has made use of his platform to highlight the Lakers allegedly pointing the blame for their losses onto others. After former head coach Darvin Ham was fired a few days after the franchise’s elimination, the sports personality proceeded to highlight the coach’s combined 90-74 record over the two recent regular seasons, his contribution in getting the team to the Western Conference Finals last year, the play in tournament victories that helped to secure a spot in the recent playoffs, and the Lakers’ first in-season tournament win. According to Broussard, “That’s not grounds to be fired. Those are grounds to be dismissed as a scapegoat.”

The Buddy Hield snub comes just a few days after the Lakers also failed to acquire former Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson into their fold. LeBron James had given his blessing for the Thompson acquisition, reportedly willing to take a pay cut on his contract, and even went as far as to give the player a call during the first day of signing. Despite this, the player went ahead and joined up with the Dallas Mavericks.

Shams Charania believes Buddy Hield chose the Warriors over LeBron James to have a “better opportunity” to win

Buddy Hield is someone who the Lakers have been reportedly attempting to acquire for quite some time now. Being a former client of Rob Pelinka, and a beast in terms of three-pointers, the player would have been a positive addition to the roster. Unfortunately, the player himself may not have had the same level of confidence in the franchise as vice versa. This theory is something that renowned reporter Shams Charania chooses to believe.

A few hours ago, Charania, along with Mark Puleo, Anthony Slater, and Mike Vorkunov, released an article detailing Hield joining the Warriors. In the same, the reporters highlighted that “Hield chose the Warriors because of the opportunity to win, per league sources. His suitors included the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.”

In such a scenario, the 2020 Three-Point Contest Champion rejecting the Pistons would make sense. After all, the franchise has barely managed to win more than 23 games since the last five regular seasons. However, the Warriors have recently not been in a much better position than the Lakers, as evident by their performance during the recent tournament. Hield’s reasoning may have stemmed from Klay Thompson’s exit, as the franchise would now have been in dire need of someone to cover Curry’s back offensively. With him possessing an equally impressive three-point shooting percentage as the Warriors’ lead scorer, the duo would complement each other well.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.