Ever since Klay Thompson ended his ties with the Warriors, Dub Nation has been wondering which player will fill that void. Well, they might not have to look too far because after the trade that sent Klay to Dallas, sharpshooter Buddy Hield soon arrived in the Bay Area. With three-point shooting being his most lethal attribute, many have even given Hield a similar title to Klay’s Splash Brother one, without him wearing the Warriors’ uniform even once! But the former Sixer seems ready to handle the pressure of sharing the court with Stephen Curry and replacing his former running mate.

In an attempt to recreate the Splash Brothers’ magic, fans have given the Curry-Hield duo the revamped title of Splash Buddies. When asked what he feels about the new tag, Hield accepted it with open arms and a smile on his face in his introductory presser, saying, “I don’t see nothing wrong with it but we just gotta take it day by day. Let it come.”

While the 31-year-old saw nothing wrong with the new title, he also claimed, “There’s no pressure I feel like. Just come and do my job. What Klay has done for this organization has been tremendous. I love Klay a lot. I’ve watched him over the years. He’s special. The way he can get hot and the way he can just change the game and be the two-way player that he is, and the champion that he is.”

“So, I don’t look at it as pressure. I think it’ll be fun just to be in that role and see if I get the same looks he got,” Hield concluded. Although the shoes are big ones to fill, if Buddy can maintain his career 40% shooting from deep range as a Warrior, it will significantly soften the blow of Klay Thompson’s departure.

More importantly, Hield has proven to be more durable than Klay Thompson in recent years, which could be a huge plus for the Golden State. Just this year, he had a rare 84-game season because of a mid-season trade from Indiana to Philly.

Steve Kerr’s role in Buddy Hield’s move to the Bay Area

With Klay leaving, the Warriors realized early that they needed to find a player who had a similar skill set for them to get back to title contention. Sure enough, they began their pursuit of Buddy Hield, who was also being targeted by the Lakers. But it was head coach Steve Kerr’s phone call to the 31-year-old before he made the final decision that nudged him toward choosing the Bay Area over LeBron James and Co.

While Kerr reportedly convinced Hield to join his squad on a phone call, Hield’s national team coach Chris DeMarco was also pushing the sharpshooter to make the same move. During their attempt to get the Bahamas to the Paris Olympics through the qualifiers in Spain, DeMarco was also helping Buddy make up his mind about his NBA future. Although their Olympics pursuit ended in disappointment, Kerr and DeMarco’s effort paid off as Hield eventually picked the Warriors.

“Hield chose the Warriors because of the opportunity to win over other interested suitors, including the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers,” Charania, Puleo, Slater, and Vorkunov reported. And if Kerr was so keen on acquiring Hield, he will surely have a plan in place about how he wants to utilize him in the lineup alongside Stephen Curry.

With him denying the pressure of the Splash Buddies tag and expressing his excitement to share the court with Steph, Dub Nation is eagerly waiting to see how this new pairing works out on the court.