Rob Dillingham’s stay in Charlotte already feels shaky before it even really begins.
The Hornets said Monday that Dillingham won’t be available for media day, just a day after the team announced it had acquired the guard from the Chicago Bulls. According to Matt Alquiza of Hornets On SI, Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson also didn’t give much of an indication that Dillingham is expected to stick around in Charlotte for the long haul. Alquiza did not include Peterson’s exact comments on the guard.
Charlotte got Dillingham from Chicago in exchange for Buddy Hield and cash, and the move created a $9.6 million trade exception for the Hornets.
That deal fits the pattern of Charlotte’s recent roster churn. Hield lasted less than a week with the team after the Hornets acquired him, Ryan Nembhard and cash from the Atlanta Hawks on Sept. 22 in a trade for Dorian Finney-Smith. Earlier in the offseason, Charlotte had brought in Finney-Smith and three second-round picks from the Houston Rockets.
Hield, 33, averaged 7.6 points in 51 games for the Golden State Warriors and Hawks last season.
For Dillingham, Charlotte is the third stop of his NBA career. The San Antonio Spurs selected him out of Kentucky with the eighth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves the same day. Minnesota then sent him to Chicago on Feb. 5 in the deal for Ayo Dosunmu.
In 30 games with the Bulls, Dillingham put up 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 21.5 minutes per game. Across 114 career games, including one start, he has averaged 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 13.0 minutes. In April, he underwent minor surgery to remove a ganglion cyst from his wrist.
The 21-year-old Hickory, North Carolina native is due $6.9 million this season on his rookie-scale deal. Charlotte has until Nov. 2 to decide on his $8.8 million team option for 2027-28.
The Hornets also have a numbers crunch to sort out. They need to trim to 15 players on standard contracts before the regular season, and as of Monday they were carrying 17.
Charlotte’s offseason has already brought several other major moves. The Hornets re-signed Coby White to a three-year, $74 million contract, added Dennis Schröder from the Cleveland Cavaliers, drafted Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson Jr. with the 18th overall pick and received Grayson Allen from the Phoenix Suns in the Miles Bridges trade.
There’s also injury news on the roster. On Friday, the Hornets announced that Kon Knueppel hurt his left hamstring and Grant Williams injured his right hamstring during offseason on-court activity. Both players will miss the preseason and be re-evaluated during the first week of the regular season.
Training camp opens Tuesday. Charlotte plays its first preseason game Oct. 6 against the Brooklyn Nets, then opens the regular season Oct. 21 at Brooklyn.
In Other News...
Hornets May Have Just Let A Young Guard Slip Away
The Hornets latest trade-deadline move brought Dorian Finney-Smith into Charlotte while sending Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard and cash considerations to Atlanta, a deal that looked more like a veteran shuffle than a long-term roster swing. But the transaction may have had an overlooked angle for Charlotte, because Nembhard came in as part of the package and brought the kind of young backcourt intrigue teams often try to uncover in these swaps.
Now there is a real chance he does not stay available for long. The Nuggets have shown interest in adding Nembhard on a two-way contract if he clears waivers, and Denver also recently signed 2023 first-round pick Cam Whitmore to a two-way NBA deal, a reminder that clubs around the league are still hunting for developmental guards wherever they can find them. For the Hornets, it is the sort of small personnel decision that can linger if a young player finds a cleaner path elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets New Depth Faces An Early Test Before Opening Night
Charlottes new-look roster is already dealing with an early setback, with Grant Williams and Kon Knueppel sidelined by hamstring injuries that will keep both out of all four preseason games. The injuries happened during offseason activity, and the Hornets plan to re-evaluate both players when the regular season approaches, leaving an otherwise busy camp with a little less clarity than they would have hoped.
Even so, Williams has been struck by how much deeper the group looks after the offseason overhaul. The Hornets moved on from LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, then added several new faces, including Coby White, Dorian Finney-Smith, Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard and Rob Dillingham, giving the roster a very different feel as the team tries to sort out roles before opening night. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Miller Update Just Raised The Stakes For Charlottes Season
Brandon Millers offseason rehab is moving in the right direction, and that alone gives Charlotte a cleaner runway heading into camp. Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson said Miller has made significant progress after shoulder surgery and is expected to participate in training camp, a promising update for a team that has been trying to build a more stable foundation around its young core.
Peterson also framed the bigger picture in practical terms, stressing that sustained success depends on pairing star talent with real roster depth. Charlottes offseason additions were part of that approach, giving the Hornets more ways to absorb injuries, survive the long regular season and keep the pressure from landing entirely on one or two players if Miller returns on schedule. [Read more 🡒]