The Charlotte Hornets are set to land Dorian Finney-Smith and three second-round draft picks in a deal with the Houston Rockets, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charlotte continues to stockpile experienced role players who bring shooting and defensive versatility while also adding to its future draft capital. The Hornets will receive second-round selections in 2027 via Memphis, 2028 via Houston and 2033 via Houston. With the additions, Charlotte now controls 20 second-round picks over the next seven years, giving the franchise the NBA’s second-largest collection of tradable second-rounders.
For the Rockets, the move helps clear roster space following their additions of Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Houston also generates a $13 million trade exception through the transaction.
The deal adds to what has already been a busy offseason in Charlotte. After the NBA draft, the Hornets sent franchise point guard and fan favorite LaMelo Ball, along with Josh Green, to Minnesota in exchange for Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three future first-round pick swaps and three future second-round picks.
Charlotte later moved longtime Hornets forward Miles Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-rounder to Phoenix, receiving Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-round pick in return.
The Hornets are coming off a dramatic turnaround season, finishing with 44 wins after managing only 19 the previous year. Charlotte sat at 11-23 on Jan. 2 before surging to win 32 of its next 45 games. From Jan. 1 through the end of the regular season, the Hornets posted the league’s No. 1 offense and the NBA’s fifth-ranked defense.
That momentum carried into a dramatic 127-126 overtime victory over Miami in the play-in tournament, but Charlotte’s run ended abruptly with a 121-90 loss at Orlando in the final play-in game for the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed.
Charlotte still owns the NBA’s longest active playoff drought, having last reached the postseason in 2016. Reid is expected to play an important role, offering the Hornets frontcourt size and perimeter shooting. The team also retained Coby White, a potential starter in Ball’s place, after the sides agreed to a three-year, $74 million contract last week, sources told Charania. Allen, O’Neale and Finney-Smith add defense, veteran poise, toughness, 3-point shooting and overall depth to the roster.
Charlotte will use part of its $15 million non-tax midlevel exception to acquire Finney-Smith and preserve the $40.7 million trade exception that will become created in the Ball trade, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Smart agreed on a two-year, $13 million deal and Bogdanovic reached a one-year deal to join the Rockets in free agency, sources told Charania. And the Rockets also agreed to a five-year, $81.5 million deal to keep restricted free agent Tari Eason, sources told Charania on Thursday.
