The Hornets earned a B-minus grade from Zach Kram of ESPN for Friday’s trade that sent Tre Mann to Cleveland in exchange for Dennis Schröder and cash. It was a cost-cutting move for the Cavaliers, who save roughly $6.8MM in the deal, which will provide more flexibility to re-sign James Harden and pursue other roster moves. Schröder’s $14.8MM salary for 2026/27 is less burdensome for Charlotte, which is still more than $20MM below the luxury tax line.

Kram notes that Schröder’s mixture of talent and inconsistency has caused him to become an NBA journeyman, with the Hornets being his 12th team overall and his seventh since the 2023/24 season. In addition, the above-market contract he got from Sacramento in a sign-and-trade last summer makes him an obvious candidate to be moved by any team that wants to unload salary.

Kram gives Charlotte credit for adding veteran depth at point guard, where Schröder will likely be the primary backup to Coby White. However, he deducts points for failing to get Cleveland to part with any draft assets for taking on Schröder’s salary. He also suggests that Schröder could be on the move again by the February trade deadline if he doesn’t turn out to be a good fit.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

• Norman Powell was correct in his analysis that the Bucks‘ insistence on sending Bobby Portis to Miami as a condition of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade led to his departure from the Heat, Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel states in a subscriber-only story. The trade hard-capped Miami at the first tax apron and left the team short of available funds to make a competitive offer to Powell. Winderman notes that if the Heat had been able to keep Portis’ $14.5MM salary out of the deal and passed on the $6.1MM contract they gave to Tim Hardaway Jr., they could have offered Powell close to the $21.5MM he accepted from the Bulls.
• In a mailbag column, Winderman is skeptical about the prospect of bringing back Haywood Highsmith, who was waived by Phoenix this week. He points out that Highsmith will turn 30 in December and was only able to play seven games last season. He adds that Miami has a greater need for a center than a combo forward, calling Highsmith and Gabe Vincent “backburner possibilities” for the Heat if other targets fall through.
• The addition of No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and last season’s trades for Trae Young and Anthony Davis are giving the Wizards a little more television exposure, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Washington has six games on the 2026/27 national television schedule after being featured just twice last season.