The Houston Rockets have made a trade, sending forward Dorian Finney-Smith to the Charlotte Hornets in a salary dump move.
ESPN’s Shams Charania first broke the news of the trade sending Finney-Smith from Houston to Charlotte. Along with Finney-Smith, the Rockets sent the Hornets three second-round draft picks, as this is a pure cap dump by Houston.
“The Houston Rockets are trading Dorian Finney-Smith and three second-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets, sources tell ESPN,” Charania wrote on X.
“Charlotte acquires additional draft capital — it has 20 second-rounders over the next 7 years and now the second-most tradeable picks in the NBA. The Rockets open roster flexibility after acquisitions of Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic, plus create a $13 million trade exception,” added Charania.
Dorian Finney-Smith Was a Cap Dump
By trading away Finney-Smith and his $13.3 million guaranteed salary for this coming season, the Rockets helped get under the first apron, according to NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan.
In addition, the team created a $13.3 million trade exception since they are not taking back any salary in the trade, which, again, is a pure salary dump designed to get under the first apron and save luxury tax money. The team saved $20 million in payroll and luxury tax with the move.
“The Rockets save over $20 million against their payroll and tax and get under the first apron by salary dumping Dorian Finney-Smith. They create a $13.3 million trade exception and are in a position to field the rest of the roster while staying under the luxury tax line,” Gozlan wrote on X.
Additionally, ESPN’s Bobby Marks provided the details of the three second-round picks being sent to Charlotte in the deal, while also noting that, while Finney-Smith has three years left on his contract, only this coming season’s salary is fully guaranteed, though he does get a trade bonus for the move.
“Seconds going back to Charlotte 2027 Memphis 2028 Houston 2033 Houston Finney-Smith has 3 years left on his contract but only this season is guaranteed 2026/27: $13.33M 2027/28: $13.33M ($0 GTY) 2028/29: $13.33M ($0 GTY) He has a 3.2% trade bonus= $861,974,” Marks wrote on X.
Dorian Finney-Smith Was Disappointing in Houston
When the Rockets signed Finney-Smith last year after he left the Los Angeles Lakers, the hope was that he would provide a defensive stopper and someone who could help Houston take the next step in the postseason.
However, he had a very disappointing first season in Houston, as he played in just 37 games and was often a DNP-CD under head coach Ime Udoka.
In his only season in Houston, Finney-Smith averaged just 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
In Charlotte, Finney-Smith will take on a bench role once again, though the team could potentially look to trade him away again or even waive him now that they have three second-round picks to take on his salary. We’ll see what happens with Finney-Smith in Charlotte, but he’s unlikely to play for the team past this year’s guaranteed salary, if that, as he does appear to be on a pretty significant decline at this point in his NBA career.
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