Breaking Down the Rumored Finney-Smith for Hield Swap Between Charlotte and Atlanta

Dorian Finney-Smith has long seemed like the most likely post-training camp casualty on the Charlotte Hornets' roster.

The veteran forward, along with a trio of second-round picks, was acquired for nothing in early July, and most people expected him to get cut by Charlotte and attempt to return to his previous heights elsewhere. After signing a lucrative four-year, $52 million contract in Houston, DFS struggled in his lone year as a Rocket as lingering ankle injuries zapped much of his effectiveness, rendering him unable to replicate the form he showed in the 2025 NBA playoffs with Lebron James, Luka Doncic, and the Lakers.

According to one NBA insider, DFS may not be a member of the Hornets for long, but not because they cut him. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and The Stein Line has reported that Charlotte may trade Finney-Smith to a division rival.

Fischer said this on X: "Among our latest items, Atlanta and Charlotte have held trade talks surrounding Buddy Hield for Dorian Finney-Smith, sources say. It remains unclear whether an agreement will be struck before training camp."

Finney-Smith ($14.1M) is slated to make more money than Hield ($9.6M) in 2026-27. However, the rest of DFS' contract is non-guaranteed, meaning Charlotte could let him walk in the offseason for nothing (assuming he stays on the roster all year). On the flip side, Buddy Hield has a $9M player option for 2027-28 with $3.1M of that guaranteed (the rest guarantees the day after the 2027 NBA Draft).

In theory, cutting Hield, who is due ~$12.7M over the next two years, would be cheaper than cutting DFS ($14.1M) before the season.

On the court, there isn't much separating the two.

They're the same age. Finney-Smith is maybe slightly better than Hield as a two-way player at this juncture, but that's projecting a slight uptick in form after a healthy offseason for DFS. The margins are slim between the two outside of Hield's clear advantage as a three-point shooter.

The sell here for Charlotte would be getting some picks back from the Hawks and the small cap savings discussed earlier.

Atlanta has a clear need for a player like a healthy Dorian Finney-Smith. Ascending forward Mo Gueye suffered a foot injury in July that is expected to sideline him for 3-4 months, a timeline that would have him sidelined to start the season. The Hawks are loaded in the backcourt, but they don't have a physical forward to soak up minutes behind starters Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu (barring rapid development from Asa Newell or Zuby Ejiofor). DFS could fill that role if the Hawks move on from Gueye before the season (Atlanta is facing a similar roster crunch that Charlotte is).

My main takeaway is that the writing is on the wall for Finney-Smith. If Charlotte is dangling him in trade talks ahead of training camp, it feels unlikely that he is an integral part of their short-term plans.

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