The Charlotte Hornets traded Buddy Hield and cash to the Chicago Bulls for Rob Dillingham, according to ESPN. This is the second time Hield has been traded this offseason, having recently been traded for Dorian Finney-Smith when he was still with the Atlanta Hawks. Hield is making about $3 million more in salary this season than Dillingham, so the cash makes up the difference.
The appeal was directed to Chicago. Their two young athletic building blocks are introduced in Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis. Dillingham was a fatal trade flier brought in by the previous administration who didn’t play very well in 30 games with the Bulls. With Tre Jones and Josh Giddey at point guard and the Wings taking on some of those ball-handling duties, it didn’t make much sense for Dillingham to continue to develop as a ball player. Hield’s elite shooting, however, should help Wilson and Buzel clear lanes to the basket.
Whether Dillingham will make it to the final count in Charlotte is unclear at this point. Right now, the Hornets owe the contracts of eighteen players. Ryan Nembhard, acquired in a trade with Atlanta, is expected to be released, and Pat Connaughton will likely be as well, but teams cannot carry more than 15 players, and there is no other obvious choice to beat Dillingham. However, if the Hornets release him, they will at least have a smaller dead cap on their books than Hield.
If Dillingham ultimately makes the team, however, Charlotte has a large circle of young guards to develop. The Crabbers are one of the best passing teams in the NBA, giving them good ball handling conditions to create their shots. For now, Coby White is the starting point guard with veteran Dennis Schröder and rookie Christian Anderson behind him.
Since the beginning of his career, Dillingham was the No. 8 overall pick two years ago, and whether it’s in Charlotte or elsewhere, someone will probably want to give it a chance this season.