CHARLOTTE - The Hornets are acting like a team that wants a seat at the big table.
That’s a new look in Charlotte, where superstar trade chatter has usually happened somewhere else. But after a 44-win season, the Hornets have spent the summer stripping down and stockpiling the kind of assets that can turn a normal roster tweak into a blockbuster.
The latest move came Tuesday, when Charlotte sent Dorian Finney-Smith to the Atlanta Hawks for guards Ryan Nembhard and Buddy Hield. Hield brings a shot-making profile that fits the Hornets’ three-point-heavy approach, while Nembhard gives them another young guard to look at. Charlotte still has roster trimming to do, though, with three players needing to be cut from a group of 18 on NBA contracts before the season begins.
The bigger story was what came with the deal. The Hornets picked up cash from Atlanta, shaved enough salary to sit $23.5M below the luxury-tax line and added a $4.5M trade exception. They also got three second-round picks for carrying Finney-Smith on the books for a few months after acquiring him from the Houston Rockets.
That’s only part of the stash Charlotte has built.
The Hornets also hold:
- $40.8M from the Ball trade
- $8.2M from trading Collin Sexton
- $7M from trading Tyus Jones
- $2.3M from trading Mason Plumlee
The Ball exception stands out as the biggest in NBA history, giving Charlotte the ability to take on $41M in salary without sending any back in a trade. The Sexton, Jones and Plumlee exceptions expire at the trade deadline, while the Ball and Finney-Smith exceptions last through the start of next summer.
It all points to a franchise that wasn’t content with merely reaching the play-in tournament and winning a game. Management pushed harder.
LaMelo Ball, who was eligible for a major extension, was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps and two second-rounders. Miles Bridges went to the Phoenix Suns for a 2033 first.
Now Charlotte has a fast path to reloading around rookie Kon Knueppel and former No. 2 pick Brandon Miller. Miller can eventually qualify for a sizable rookie extension, but that contract would not begin until 2027-28. In the meantime, the Hornets could have four extra first-round picks and as many as 14 extra second-rounders to use in a deal.
And that makes them dangerous in a different way.
De'Aaron Fox, Trey Murphy III and Myles Turner are among the names that could come into play. Fox is on a long-term deal and sits in a crowded San Antonio Spurs backcourt with Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
Murphy could become available if the New Orleans Pelicans stumble. The Milwaukee Bucks are already expected to be making calls about center Myles Turner.
Charlotte has the draft capital and the salary flexibility to help another team clean up its books without wrecking its own. That kind of leverage can matter. The Hornets have time to wait for the right move, but for once, they look built to chase the kind of star that usually never lands in Charlotte.
In Other News...
Hornets May Cut A New Guard As Backcourt Crunch Builds
Charlottes backcourt picture got a little more crowded after the team completed a trade with Atlanta that brought in Ryan Nembhard as part of the Buddy Hield-Dorian Finney-Smith deal. The move added another guard to a roster already carrying 18 players on standard contracts, giving the front office more names than available openings as opening night approaches.
Nembhards guaranteed contract gives him a different kind of value than a typical camp body, and if he is moved on, other teams are expected to show interest in bringing him aboard on a two-way deal. For Charlotte, the bigger issue is simple roster math: the club still has to get down to 15 standard contracts, and the next cut may come from a position group that was already looking tight before this trade. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Miller Looks Set To Define The Hornets Next Era
Brandon Miller is beginning to look like the kind of player a franchise builds around, and Charlotte has already acted like it knows it. After moving on from Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball, the Hornets have cleared space for Miller to sit at the center of the next core, and the early buzz around a rookie-scale extension says plenty about how the organization views him. The comparison being floated inside those discussions is the kind usually reserved for top-end young talent, the sort of deal that signals more than confidence in a players development.
Nothing has been finalized yet, but the direction here is hard to miss. Miller and the Hornets both seem aligned on his standing within the roster, and the expectation is that a deal will come together during the season. For Charlotte, this is about more than locking in a promising wing. It is about setting the tone for whatever comes next, with Miller positioned to carry a franchise that is trying to reset itself around a younger, cleaner foundation. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Just Solved A Frustration Carolinas Fans Know Too Well
For Hornets fans scattered across the Carolinas and into Virginia, one of the more frustrating parts of following the team has been finding a reliable way to watch every game. Charlotte has moved to widen its local broadcast reach through new partnerships with Gray Media and Sinclair, giving the team a broader presence on local stations and making its telecasts easier to access in more markets around the region.
The timing matters, too, with preseason set to begin Oct. 6 against the Nets at Spectrum Center. For a team trying to sharpen its connection with a fan base that stretches well beyond Charlotte, the expanded distribution is a practical fix and a reminder that the Hornets are still working to make their product easier to find before the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]