The Hawks and Hornets have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith heading to Atlanta in exchange for a shooter Buddy Hieldthe guard Ryan Nembhardand in cash.
Jake Fisher of The Stein Line and Bleacher Report first reported at the beginning of the week that the Hawks and Hornets continued to talk about a possible trade involving Finney-Smith and Hield this summer. Shortly before Charanya announced the deal, Fisher said (through Twitter), that the two teams resumed their discussions and that Nembhardt was involved.
It’s a consolidation deal for the Hawks, who faced a potential roster shortfall this fall with 16 players on standard contracts. A two-for-one deal would allow them to move forward without giving up guaranteed deals to any of the other players or giving up an injured big man Muhammed Guyewhich has a non-guaranteed contract and renews after offseason foot surgery.
Atlanta will also have a chance to try Phinney-Smith, who was a reliable 3-and-D player for several seasons with the Mavericks, Nets and Lakers before being sidelined by ankle surgery in 2025. The 33-year-old returned to action in December and played in 37 games for Houston, but he hasn’t been efficient, averaging a career-high 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game while shooting .333/.270/.889.
In July, the Rockets traded up three second-round picks to send Finney-Smith to Charlotte in a salary reduction deal. He signed a four-year, $52.7 million deal with Houston last summer, but only the first two years of that deal are guaranteed, so after he makes $14.2 million in 2026-27, the Hawks won’t expect any guaranteed money if they decide to waive him next offseason.
As for the Hornets, they will be acquiring a young point guard who had a promising rookie season in Dallas last season. After going undrafted, Nembhard played in 60 games for Dallas, making 27 starts, and was promoted from a two-way contract to a standard deal. He averaged 6.6 mpg, 5.3 mpg and 2.2 mpg at 19.5 mpg with a solid .415/.356/.806 shooting line.
Nembhard was shipped from Dallas to Atlanta in a trio Lugentz is there/Zachary Ryzaker trade in July He will make about $2.15 million in 2026/27 before becoming eligible for restricted free agency next summer.
As for Hield, his 2,201 career 3-pointers are good for 15th on the NBA’s all-time list, but he’s coming off a disappointing one-year split between Golden State and Atlanta. In 51 contests (16.1 mpg), he averaged 7.6 ppg and made just 34.9% of his 3-point attempts, also a career-worst mark.
The Hawks decided earlier this offseason hold on to Hild when his $3 million partial guarantee for 2026/27 increased to a full guarantee of $9.66 million. His contract also includes a $10.1 million player option for 27/28 that will be partially guaranteed for $3.14 million if exercised.
Still to come…