The Hawks and Hornets may already be circling a deal before training camp even gets rolling.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Atlanta and Charlotte have been talking on and off this month about a trade framework built around Buddy Hield and Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith landed with the Hornets earlier this offseason in a salary dump by the Houston Rockets, while Hield had his contract for the upcoming season guaranteed by the Hawks and is set to make $9.6 million.
"Atlanta and Charlotte, league sources say, have engaged in on-and-off trade discussions at various points this month on trade frameworks that would feature the Hornets' Dorian Finney-Smith and the Hawks' Buddy Hield.
League sources say that the Hawks have been exploring potential trades that include Hield's $9.7 million salary all summer. If something does come to fruition with the Hornets, sending out Hield in a deal for Finney-Smith would furnish Atlanta with a wing defender who boasts notable size ... although Finney-Smith played in only 37 games last season after undergoing ankle surgery in June 2025.
It should also be noted, though, that Finney-Smith's $13.3 million salary is 2027-28 is non-guaranteed."
Hield arrived in Atlanta in a deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Hield and Jonathan Kuminga. Once he got to the Hawks, he didn’t wind up in the rotation, which made the decision to guarantee his salary for this season stand out even more.
The roster math is part of why this report has teeth. Atlanta currently sits at 16 players after waiving Devin Carter last week, and the regular-season limit is 15. The Hawks had been carrying 17 players after the trade for Lu Dort and Ryan Nembhard, and it’s been widely expected that one of Hield, Nembhard, Corey Kispert, or Mouhamed Gueye would eventually be moved or waived.
A straight-up Hield-for-Finney-Smith swap would work, but it would push Atlanta a bit over the luxury tax. Under the current ownership group, the Hawks have not paid the tax, and there’s no real reason to think that changes now. If Atlanta went this route, the cleanest move could be waiving Mouhamed Gueye to get back under the tax and down to 15 players.
That would not be a small decision. Gueye is a useful defender, and the Hawks would surely like to keep him around. But his foot injury this summer, his non-guaranteed salary, and the fact that Atlanta drafted Asa Newell and Zuby Ejiofor in back-to-back drafts make his spot look vulnerable.
Finney-Smith would give the Hawks a different kind of option. He’d be a veteran power forward to pair with Newell and Ejiofor, and that matters because the backup four spot has been one of the key battles to watch. Atlanta may want some insurance if the two young players aren’t ready for bigger minutes right away.
There’s also the version of Finney-Smith the Hawks would be betting on, not the one who just came through last season. He played only 37 games for the Rockets after the ankle surgery in June 2025 and shot 27% from three. At his best, though, he’s the kind of 3-and-D wing who can defend on the perimeter and knock down open looks.
And because his 2027-28 salary is non-guaranteed, Atlanta would have another layer of flexibility next offseason if it wanted to move on.
With training camp only a week away, this is one to watch.
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