The Hornets have moved on from Mouhamadou Gueye, officially waiving the forward on Thursday, according to the team. The decision had been telegraphed for days, especially after Valencia Basket said last week that it had reached an agreement to bring Gueye in for the coming season.
Gueye’s path to this point has been built almost entirely in the G League. After going undrafted out of Pitt in 2022, he spent most of his first four pro seasons bouncing through the Texas Legends, Raptors 905, Capital City Go-Go, and Windy City Bulls. This past season with Windy City, Chicago’s NBAGL affiliate, the 6-foot-9 forward put together a strong run, averaging 14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game across 47 appearances.
That production was enough to earn him a two-year deal with the Bulls during the final week of the regular season. Gueye, 28, also had a brief NBA stint before that, appearing in 11 games for Toronto in the 2023/24 season. He finished Chicago’s last two regular-season games in April with 45 total minutes, and he chipped in 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
His contract situation made the waiver move pretty straightforward. Gueye’s minimum salary for 2026/27 was non-guaranteed, and earlier this month Chicago sent him to Charlotte in the four-team trade centered on LaMelo Ball, Julius Randle, and Nic Claxton so the clubs could satisfy the “touch” rules.
Charlotte had been carrying a full 21-man offseason roster before cutting Gueye, so the Hornets have opened up one spot. Even so, the roster squeeze is still very real.
The team now has 17 players on standard contracts, 16 of them guaranteed, and all three two-way slots are filled. Cutting Gueye was the obvious first step, but there’s still work to do before opening night this fall.
In Other News...
What Really Happened In That Viral Warriors Draft Room Moment
The viral draft-room clip from the 2026 NBA Draft looked like one of those moments that could define a front office for a night, but the reality was more routine than dramatic. Before making their No. 11 pick, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and owner Joe Lacob were weighing outside interest while the board kept shifting, and the conversation came as Golden State tried to navigate a spot where its preferred target was no longer available.
What made the exchange linger was the timing. The Warriors had hoped Brayden Burries might still be there at No. 11, only to watch Milwaukee take him one pick earlier, which forced the room to pivot quickly and stay focused on the options in front of them. In the end, Dunleavy and Lacob were aligned on the direction, but the clip captured the kind of last-second uncertainty that can make even a settled draft room look like it is on the verge of a bigger move. [Read more 🡒]
Grayson Allen Might Be The Hornets Addition Fans Are Overlooking
The Hornets spent much of the summer remaking the roster, and Grayson Allen could end up being one of the quieter additions with the loudest impact. Charlotte brought him in from Phoenix in the Miles Bridges trade, with Royce O'Neale also part of the return, and Allen arrives with the kind of shooting profile that can fit almost anywhere. Since the 2021-22 season, he has piled up more than 800 made threes while staying above 40 percent from deep, putting him in a select shooting tier.
For a team that has already shuffled in LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, Hannes Steinbach, Christian Anderson Jr., Coby White and Dorian Finney-Smith as part of its offseason overhaul, Allen gives the Hornets another proven spacer to sort into the new lineup. The question now is not whether he can shoot, but how Charlotte uses him and whether he becomes the bench scorer who quietly helps make the whole reshuffle work. [Read more 🡒]