The Atlanta Hawks are trading Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Atlanta Hawks are trading Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard, and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for forward Dorian Finney-Smith, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday afternoon.
Atlanta began the day with 16 players on standard contracts, one above the regular-season limit. The deal sends two of them out and brings one back.
One version of the talks included Devin Carter, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported Sunday.
"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," Fischer wrote. "League sources say that the Hawks have been exploring potential trades that include Hield's $9.7 million salary all summer."
Atlanta got Carter from the Sacramento Kings on June 29 and waived him Sept. 11 without playing him in a game. The Boston Celtics signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract after that.
Hield's Brief Hawks Tenure
Hield joined Atlanta on Feb. 5 in the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Hield and Jonathan Kuminga. He appeared in seven regular-season games for the Hawks, averaging 7.3 minutes per game.
Across 51 games with the two teams, he averaged 7.6 points in 16.1 minutes per game. His 34.9% accuracy from 3-point range was a career low.
The team and Hield agreed once to postpone the guarantee deadline before Atlanta fully guaranteed his $9.7 million salary for 2026-27 on June 28. Until then, only $3 million had been guaranteed. Spotrac lists a $10.1 million player option for 2027-28; if Hield exercises it, $3.1 million becomes guaranteed, while the remainder becomes guaranteed the day after the 2027 NBA Draft.
New Orleans took Hield sixth overall in 2016.
Nembhard Departs After Two Months
Nembhard lasted two months in Atlanta. The Hawks acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks on July 19 in a three-team trade that brought Luguentz Dort over from the Oklahoma City Thunder, sent three second-round picks to Oklahoma City, and moved Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in 2024, to Dallas.
Aaron Wiggins came from Oklahoma City in a separate deal.
"Terrific offseason for Atlanta," an NBA executive told Hawks Roundtable earlier this month. "You can never have enough wings in today's NBA. That's why the Dort and Wiggins trades were huge."
Undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2025, Nembhard signed a two-way contract with Dallas and later had it converted to a standard deal. He played in 60 games as a rookie and started 27. He averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 19.5 minutes while shooting 41.5% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range. His 23 assists in the season finale against the Chicago Bulls set a rookie record.
Nembhard's contract was non-guaranteed, as is Mouhamed Gueye's. Gueye had surgery on a fractured left foot in July and faces a re-evaluation three to four months out.
Finney-Smith Joins Atlanta
Finney-Smith went undrafted out of Florida in 2016 and signed with Dallas that July. After seven seasons, including a starting role on the 2022 Western Conference finalist, the Mavericks traded him to Brooklyn in February 2023 for Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn sent him to the Lakers in December 2024.
Rather than pick up a $15.4 million player option with the Lakers, he signed a four-year, $52.7 million contract with the Houston Rockets in July 2025 and played 37 games for them. He averaged 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 16.8 minutes and shot 27-of-100 from 3-point range.
On July 6, Houston sent him to Charlotte along with three second-round picks: Memphis' 2027 pick and Houston's 2028 and 2033 picks. The Hornets returned cash.
Spotrac has Finney-Smith at $13.3 million in base salary this season. He is set to make the same $13.3 million in 2027-28, but that year is not guaranteed, and the final season in 2028-29 is a player option.
Hawks Prepare for Regular Season
Henri Veesaar, the No. 52 pick in June, is likely out for the season with a torn ACL.
Atlanta opens the regular season Oct. 21 at the Orlando Magic, with tip-off at 7 p.m. ET. The home opener is Oct. 24 against Houston.
