Here’s a trade. The Charlotte Hornets are reportedly acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and three second round picks from the Houston Rockets in exchange for nothing.
It seems as though all the Rockets are getting out of the deal is a trade exception worth the amount of Finney-Smith’s contract, which would mean the Hornets aren’t sending anything back in return. According to Bobby Marks, the Hornets are going to be using their midlevel exception to absorb Finney-Smith, meaning they’ll still have the full value of the near $41 million trade exception they got for LaMelo Ball.
The Hornets are getting value out of this trade in two ways. First, it’s moar picks. The Hornets now have 20 second round picks over the next seven years, which is a cool thing to tell your friends. At some point they have to start cashing those in, but it’s always better to have more picks than fewer picks. The second rounders acquired in this trade are the Grizzlies’ in 2027 and the the Rockets’ in 2028 and 2033.
They’re also getting another potential winning player if Finney-Smith can get back to his pre-2025-26 form. He struggled last season after undergoing ankle surgery in the offseason, but prior to that, he was a premier role player. He’s always played above average defense and shot threes at an average to very good rate. In 2024-25, he shot over 40% from three. His teams have routinely played better with him on the floor than with him off the floor.
Best case, the Hornets have added another winning player to a roster that’s quickly accumulating an impressive amount of grit, if nothing else while adding minor draft assets for the cost of nothing. Worst case, it’s just draft assets at the cost of nothing. It’s another example of Jeff Peterson wringing out assets from a team that’s trying to create some cap space. Finney-Smith’s contract isn’t guaranteed beyond this season, so it’s functionally an expiring deal if the Hornets want it to be, which also makes it a possible piece in a different trade. And the Hornets have to do something else at some point this offseason, because their roster now stands at 16 players.
