The Hawks and Hornets have agreed to a trade, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith is headed to Atlanta in exchange for sharpshooter Buddy Hield, guard Ryan Nembhard, and cash.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line and Bleacher Report first reported earlier in the week that the Hawks and Hornets had been talking off and on this summer about a possible trade involving Finney-Smith and Hield. Shortly before Charania reported the agreement, Fischer said (via Twitter) that the two teams had renewed their discussions and that Nembhard was involved.

It’s a consolidation trade for the Hawks, who were facing a potential roster crunch this fall with 16 players on standard contracts. The two-for-one deal will allow them to move forward without waiving any of their remaining players on guaranteed deals or injured big man Mouhamed Gueye, who is on a non-guaranteed contract and is recovering from offseason foot surgery.

Atlanta will also have the opportunity to take a flier on Finney-Smith, who was a reliable three-and-D role player for several seasons with the Mavericks, Nets, and Lakers until being sidelined by ankle surgery in 2025. The 33-year-old returned to action in December and appeared in 37 games for Houston, but he wasn’t effective, averaging a career-low 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game on .333/.270/.889 shooting.

The Rockets attached three second-round picks in July to send Finney-Smith to Charlotte in a salary-dump deal. He signed a four-year, $52.7MM contract with Houston last summer, but only the first two years of that deal are guaranteed, so after he earns $14.2MM in 2026/27, the Hawks won’t be on the hook for any guaranteed money if they decide to cut him next offseason.

More to come…