Charlotte is acquiring Rob Dillingham from Chicago for Buddy Hield and cash, continuing a late-offseason reshaping of the Hornets' backcourt.
The Charlotte Hornets are acquiring Rob Dillingham from the Chicago Bulls and sending Buddy Hield and cash to Chicago, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Saturday.
Hield lasted four days in Charlotte. The Hornets got him Tuesday from the Atlanta Hawks, along with Ryan Nembhard and cash, in a deal that sent Dorian Finney-Smith to Atlanta. Charlotte created a $4.5 million traded player exception in that trade, ESPN's Bobby Marks reported.
Charlotte takes in $3 million less in salary, and the cash going to Chicago covers a good portion of the difference, according to Charania. Hield is set to make $9,658,536 this season, according to Spotrac. Dillingham will make $6.89 million after Minnesota exercised his third-year option on Oct. 18, 2025.
The Hornets will take Dillingham into the exception they created in the Tyus Jones trade and open a new $9.7 million exception for Hield, salary cap analyst Yossi Gozlan said.
"The Hornets continue to incrementally decrease payroll in trades to lower inevitable dead cap hits for when they waive players to resolve their roster crunch," Gozlan wrote.
Charlotte acquired Jones and two second-round picks from the Orlando Magic for cash in February. On Feb. 5, the Hornets sent him to the Dallas Mavericks for Malaki Branham and opened a $7 million exception, ESPN reported.
Dillingham Returns to North Carolina
Dillingham was born in Hickory, North Carolina, and played high school basketball at Combine Academy in Lincolnton before a move to Overtime Elite in Atlanta.
He started once in 32 games at Kentucky in 2023-24. The SEC named him its Sixth Man of the Year after he averaged 15.2 points and made 44.4% of his threes.
San Antonio took him eighth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft and traded him to Minnesota that night for two future first-round picks. He appeared in 49 games as a rookie, averaging 4.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.
Dillingham Showed More in Expanded Bulls Role
On Feb. 5, Minnesota traded Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks to Chicago for Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips. He had put up 3.5 points a game in 35 appearances for the Timberwolves to that point. Chicago played him just under 22 minutes a night the rest of the way, and over 30 games there he averaged 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.
His career high came in a 129-98 win over the Washington Wizards. Dillingham scored 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, went 5-of-8 from three, and added seven rebounds.
On April 22, the Bulls announced that Dillingham had surgery to remove a ganglion cyst from his right wrist. Ownership fired executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley in April, and that front office was the one that acquired Dillingham at the deadline.
Hield Moves to Eighth NBA Team
Hield, 33, has made 2,201 3-pointers, the 15th-most in NBA history. He holds career averages of 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists and has shot 39.5% from three.
Last season, he split 51 games between Golden State and Atlanta. His 7.6 points per game were a career low. He shot 34.9% from three in 16.1 minutes a night. New Orleans drafted him sixth overall in 2016, and Chicago will be his eighth NBA team. His contract carries a $10.1 million player option for 2027-28.
Hornets Continue Reshaping Backcourt
Chicago traded Coby White to Charlotte in February. White is set to start at point guard after the Hornets traded LaMelo Ball to Minnesota this summer.
The Hornets also added Dennis Schröder from Cleveland and drafted guard Christian Anderson in June. Charlotte went 44-38 last season and lost the 8-9 play-in game to Orlando.
Dillingham's rookie-scale deal includes a club option for 2027-28. The Hornets have until Oct. 31 to exercise it.
