Hornets Trade Buddy Hield and Cash to Bulls for Rob Dillingham

The Charlotte Hornets are trading 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, as he was recently swapped for Dorian Finney-Smith when he was still on the Atlanta Hawks. Hield makes around $3 million more in salary this season than Dillingham, so the cash will help make up the difference.

The appeal for Chicago is straightforward. Their two young building blocks are athletic forwards in Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis. Dillingham was a trade-deadline flier brought in by the previous regime that didn't play especially well in 30 games with the Bulls. With Tre Jones and Josh Giddey at point guard and those wings taking on some ball-handling responsibilities, it didn't make much sense to try to continue developing Dillingham as an on-ball player. Hield's elite shooting, however, should help clear lanes to the basket for Wilson and Buzelis.

It isn't even clear at this point whether Dillingham will ultimately make the roster in Charlotte. At present, the Hornets owe standard contracts to 18 players. Ryan Nembhard, acquired in that trade with Atlanta, is expected to be waived, and Pat Connaughton likely will be as well, but teams can carry no more than 15 players, and there's no other obvious choice for Dillingham to beat out. If the Hornets do indeed waive him, they will at least have a smaller dead cap figure on their books than they would have with Hield.

If Dillingham ultimately makes the team, though, Charlotte is a great environment for a young guard to develop in. The Hornets are one of the most shooting-heavy teams in the NBA, giving a ball-handler optimal conditions to create his own shots. For now, Coby White is the starter at point guard with veteran Dennis Schröder and rookie Christian Anderson behind him.

Though the beginning of his career has been underwhelming, Dillingham was the No. 8 overall pick just two years ago, and whether it's in Charlotte or elsewhere, someone will likely want to give him an opportunity this season.