4 Free agents who should be on the Toronto Raptors' wish list

No. 1: Buddy Hield

The Toronto Raptors have plenty of non-shooters and a handful of willing ones. What's more, rookie Gradey Dick profiles long-term as a movement shooter on the perimeter. Yet in the modern NBA it seems that you can never have enough shooting, so why wouldn't the Raptors add an elite movement shooter who teams seem to continually undervalue and who can pave the way for Gradey Dick to develop into an elite off-ball "star in his role" as Buddy Hield has.

Hield is in just his eighth season in the league even though it seems like he has been around forever. He has always seemed to be in trade rumors as his current team shopped him, leading to three trades and counting for the veteran sharpshooter. The Indiana Pacers moved him for spare parts at the Trade Deadline and are feeling the loss as their offensive versatility and potency took a nosedive.

Hield is a career 40.1 percent shooter from long-range on a difficult diet of attempts, averaging 15.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In less than eight full seasons he has already climbed to 22nd on the all-time 3-pointers leaderboard and five times has hit at least 260 in a single season, something only 11 players in the NBA have ever done even once.

The Raptors' offense would open up with a lethal movement shooter flying around pindown screens or running various actions with Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. Defensively he would need insulation, but the combination of Barnes and Jakob Poeltl on the backline would help protect him. Signing Hield wouldn't be a long-term overhaul of their plan, but rather a short-term maximization of a player with one of the most valuable skill sets in the league.