Charlotte has 17 standard contracts and needs to reach 15. The Hornets should waive Pat Connaughton and Dorian Finney-Smith instead of attaching picks in a trade.
Charlotte has 17 players on standard contracts. NBA teams open the season with 15, and the Charlotte Hornets tip off Oct. 21 at Brooklyn.
The two subtractions should be Pat Connaughton and Dorian Finney-Smith, and Charlotte should get to 15 by writing checks instead of attaching draft picks to a consolidation trade.
Pat Connaughton's Non-Guaranteed Salary
Connaughton is owed $3,815,861 this season. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported that the salary does not become fully guaranteed until Jan. 10, 2027.
Charlotte traded for him from Milwaukee last summer, and Jeff Peterson told him at the time that he probably would not make the final roster. Connaughton made the roster. He appeared in 42 games last season and averaged 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds, and he shot 44.7% from the field and 40.4% from 3-point range. He is 33 and has been in the league since 2015-16.
Grayson Allen arrived this summer in the Miles Bridges trade, which moved Sion James to third at the position.
The Finney-Smith Money
Houston traded Finney-Smith to Charlotte in exchange for cash considerations earlier this offseason. The deal included three second-round picks: Memphis's 2027, Houston's 2028, and Houston's 2033. The Hornets incorporated the salary into part of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, maintaining the $40.7 million trade exception from the LaMelo Ball deal. Charlotte now holds 20 second-round picks over the next seven years and 11 first-round picks through 2033.
Finney-Smith is set to receive $13.3 million in 2026-27. His contracts for 2027-28 and 2028-29 are non-guaranteed.
Over 37 games with the Rockets last season, he averaged 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. He had a shooting percentage of 33.3% from the field and 27% from three-point range. His 16.8 minutes per game marked the first time in 10 seasons that he played under 20 minutes on average.
Over 11 seasons, Finney-Smith has averaged 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds with a 44% shooting percentage. His career 3-point percentage is 35%. He’s played in 44 playoff games, including starting for the Dallas team that reached the 2022 Western Conference finals. Finney-Smith celebrated his 33rd birthday in May.
A waiver comes with a second decision: Charlotte can either receive the full $13.3 million this season or spread it over three years at about $4.4 million annually through 2028-29.
The Hornets have a payroll close to $177.3 million, with the first luxury tax apron at $209.02 million. Brandon Miller is eligible for a rookie extension this offseason, while Kon Knueppel's rookie contract extends through 2028-29. The team has already allocated funds for this season, and both Miller's extension and Knueppel's contract will be reflected in the 2028-29 financial year.
Salaün, Grant Williams, and the Trade Route
Tidjane Salaün is due $8,237,880 this season, while Charlotte has an option for the 2027-28 season worth about $10.45 million, with the deadline to exercise it on October 31. Last season, he played in 37 games and averaged 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists. He shot 50.3% from the field and 43.4% from 3-point range. Charlotte took him sixth overall in 2024, and he turned 21 on Aug. 10.
Grant Williams is owed $14,265,750 in the final year of the four-year, $53,341,500 contract he signed with Boston in July 2023.
Consolidating two of those contracts into one player means sending out second-round picks to balance the money. Charlotte spent June, July, and August collecting them.
At the 2025 deadline, Charlotte moved Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic for Jusuf Nurkić and a 2026 first-round pick. Finney-Smith's $13.3 million would be an expiring contract in February. Royce O'Neale, Allen, and Liam McNeeley are ahead of him on the wing.
Peterson's stated position is that he likes all of Charlotte's pieces.
"The goal has never been to get to the playoffs one time and then be out for seven, eight years and then try to get back again," Peterson said on July 7, in comments reported by Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. "It's always been about sustainability. And I think the roster that we have will give us the best chance to move forward. I like all of our pieces."
"We'll continue to build it, build it the right way. And like I always say, we're not going to take shortcuts," Peterson continued.
The projected rotation has Coby White, Miller, Knueppel, Naz Reid, and Moussa Diabaté starting, with Dennis Schröder, Allen, O'Neale, Williams, Hannes Steinbach, and Ryan Kalkbrenner behind them.
Charlotte traded LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, Bridges, and Tre Mann this offseason. Last season, the Hornets won 44 games but narrowly missed the playoffs by one spot. Training camp begins in late September, and Salaün's option deadline is October 31.
