The multi-team deal that the Golden State Warriors did to replace Klay Thompson brought them a new sharpshooter: Buddy Hield. However, it is worth noting that the departed Splash Brother was an elite 3-and-D player who supported Stephen Curry on the backcourt. On the other hand, Hield has specialized his skill in catching and shooting. His defensive rebound career average (3.5) seems better than Klay’s (3.1), but when it comes to the total number of defensive rebounds, Klay holds the lead. That’s what caught NFL legend, Cris Carter’s eye as he further delved deep into the Championship goals of the Warriors.

As Carter appeared on the ‘Full Loaded’ podcast, he discussed Buddy Hield‘s ambitions, as he joined the Bay Area roster. However, Carter had doubts when he said, “The way the Warriors roster is now if they would have Paul George, they would have had a chance.” The NFL legend suggested a worthy candidate since PG13 would’ve been a shot creator at the three-point line along with a 6’10” stature to protect the rim.

But Carter did not have the same level of confidence in Buddy Hield as he had in PG, when he said this about the 31-year-old shooting guard, “I don’t know if people have been watching Buddy Hield lately, but this year in Philadelphia like he is a one-dimensional player. Yeah, that means catch and shoot, and he’s not one of the top 10 catch and shoot guys. He can’t play any defense.”

Also, Carter addressed Hield’s pursuit to play alongside Draymond Green and Stephen Curry might not win him a championship, further adding, “I think he’s trying to acquest to Draymond and Steph because it’s like Steph’s better than LeBron, that might be true right now, but we’re talking about championships so they cannot win the championship in Golden State based on the team that they have.”

“Too many teams in the West,” he concluded. Though Buddy Hield’s past season form did not seem to leave an impression on Carter, he certainly has impressive 3-point volume shooting despite him being “one-dimensional”, in a way better than the Golden Boy himself over the last five seasons.

Buddy Hield vs Stephen Curry: The duo’s prolific shooting showcase

Surprisingly, Buddy Hield has made 1322 three-pointers, much more than Stephen Curry’s 1264, since the 2019-29 season. However, the 31-year-old has achieved that feat by attempting about 200 odd more beyond-the-arc shots in 100+ games than the Splash Brother has played. Also, Hield’s field goal percentage lies quite close to that of Curry’s 46.4%, as the former has clocked his shots at 42.7%, despite having a much lower points per game average last season.

When it comes to last season’s average, Curry is leading the Bay Area charts averaging 26.4 points. Contrarily, Hield could only accumulate 12.1 points in the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers. Also, the Splash Brother can dribble well, creating chances with his 5.1 assist career average. While Hield is not that great of a playmaker with a career average of 3 assists.

All-in-all Buddy Hield might be a star Steph Curry can count on but he’ll never really replace that Klay Thompson void fully at the Warriors. From this point on, the Dubs must balance themselves on the court in whatever way possible to keep their Championship hopes alive, as they look to empower the young core of Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga, alongside the Splash Brother.

Do you think the Warriors still have it in them to go all the way? Let us know in the comments below.