Houston Rockets trade Dorian Finney-Smith to Charlotte Hornets

The front office deals one of the 2025 offseason's top acquisitions East to gain financial flexibility.

Nov 24, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone talks before the game against the Denver Nuggets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Houston Rockets are remaking their roster and seeking improved financial flexibility, which is why Dorian Finney-Smith will suit up with the Charlotte Hornets in 2026-27 instead of returning for Year 2 of a four-year, $53 million deal inked last offseason.

The Hornets were compensated with three second-round picks for taking on his contract, allowing Houston to have some breathing room after agreeing to deals with guards Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

The Rockets also have created a $13 million trade exception as a result of this transaction.

Finney-Smith is due just north of $13 million for each of the next two seasons and has a player option he’ll likely exercise for 2028-29. He was set to be Houston’s sixth-highest paid player behind Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, Jr. and Tari Eason.

Set to enter his 11th season, Finney-Smith turned 33 years old in May but is still a highly respected “3 and D” guy who has plug-and-play attributes on the wing. Injuries limited DFS to 37 games last season, all but one of which came as a reserve, and career-lows of 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and a 27 percent shooting clip from 3-point range. 

The Hornets are retooling their roster, having moved point guard LaMelo Ball (Minnesota) and combo forward Miles Bridges (Phoenix) while adding 3-point shooters like big man Naz Reid and prolific marksman Grayson Allen to a roster that features recent lottery picks Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel. Finney-Smith should vie for reserve minutes behind those wings.

May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) reacts after a made basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Earlier this week, the Rockets agreed to a five-year $85 million deal to keep Eason, a restricted free agent who would’ve been higher on the pecking order than Finney-Smith in Ime Udoka’s frontcourt rotation. This deal now means Houston can make better use of its resources but does cost them valuable draft capital that gives Charlotte 20 second-round picks over the next seven years.

The selections the Rockets are sending the Hornets are a 2027 choice obtained from Memphis that may be very valuable, and their own picks in ‘28 and ‘33.

Houston didn’t have a first-round pick in this most recent draft, but added a potential key piece in Ohio State product Bruce Thornton, with pick No. 31, the first of the second round. JD Davison, originally a second-round choice of the Boston Celtics who saw time off the bench last season, got his option picked up. 

Davison won’t play for the Rockets in the Las Vegas Summer League, but Thornton will be joined by another former second-rounder working on a two-way deal in former two-time NCAA champ Tristen Newton, a combo guard. Another two-way player, undrafted forward Isaiah Crawford, is also on the roster after seeing time with Houston last season.