NBA Trade: Charlotte Hornets Lands 6-Foot-2 Guard From Bulls Giving Up Buddy Hield And A Major Cap Space

Chicago has moved on from Rob Dillingham. The Bulls have agreed to send the young guard to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for sharpshooter Buddy Hield and cash considerations, according to a Saturday night report from ESPN's Shams Charania. The deal lands just weeks before training camp opens.

It marks the first outgoing move by new Bulls basketball operations chief Bryson Graham since he took over from Arturas Karnisovas, and it flips Dillingham to his third team since February. For Charlotte, it's a bet on youth and financial flexibility heading into a season with real expectations.

Buddy Hield Heads To Bulls As Hornets Receive Rob Dillingham

Buddy Hield, a 33-year-old shooting guard, is a career 39.5 percent three-point shooter on 7.3 attempts per game, numbers that instantly address a glaring hole on Chicago's roster. He's averaged 14.5 points, four rebounds and 2.4 assists across 765 regular-season games, and this will be his seventh team entering his 11th year in the league.

Last season didn't go smoothly for him. Hield struggled through stints with Golden State and Atlanta, two rosters where he never quite found his footing. Chicago is betting a change of scenery, alongside pass-first guard Josh Giddey and wing Norman Powell, gets him back to form. New head coach Tiago Splitter inherits a team that desperately needed outside shooting to space the floor for rookie Caleb Wilson and third-year forward Matas Buzelis.

Graham has been here before. He worked on acquiring Hield once already this year while with Atlanta's front office, so this isn't an unfamiliar name to him. The financial mechanics work in Chicago's favor too. Charlotte is including cash to help cover the salary gap, since Hield's deal outweighs what Dillingham was set to earn.

Why Charlotte Is Betting On Dillingham's Upside

For the Hornets, this is about clearing money and taking a flier on potential. The move creates a $9.6 million trade exception for Charlotte while shedding roughly $3 million in salary, giving the Hornets' front office real flexibility to work with down the line.

Dillingham was the eighth overall pick out of Kentucky back in 2024, originally drafted by Minnesota before landing in Chicago last February in the deal that sent Ayo Dosunmu to the Timberwolves. His rookie stint with the Bulls was rocky. He averaged just 9.6 points a game and shot under 43 percent from the field as he tried to find a role in a crowded backcourt.

There's a homecoming element here too. The Hickory, North Carolina native gets a shot to develop closer to home, learning behind veterans Coby White and Dennis Schroder. At 21, he still has time on his side, and his speed and change-of-direction ability give Charlotte's coaching staff something to work with, even if his outside shot needs serious refinement.

Charlotte is coming off a 44-38 season, a 25-win jump that has the franchise feeling relevant again after years of losing. Adding a young combo guard with lottery pedigree, even a flawed one, fits the direction Lee's group is heading. Neither side gave up an obvious building block here. Chicago gets a proven shooter to plug a hole immediately. Charlotte gets a cheap, controllable young player and financial room to maneuver. Both front offices walk away with something they didn't have a week ago.