Bulls Trade Dillingham to Hornets for Hield — SkimNews
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- Rob Dillingham is being traded to the Charlotte Hornets from the Chicago Bulls for Buddy Hield and cash, per ESPN's Shams Charania, less than a year after Chicago acquired him at last season's trade deadline
- Dillingham, the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft and still 21, appeared in 30 games for the Bulls and averaged 9.6 points and 2.8 assists, and carries one more team-option year before restricted free agency in summer 2028
- Buddy Hield spent less than a week in Charlotte after the Hornets acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks for Dorian Finney-Smith, and holds a roughly $10 million player option for 2027-28
- The Hornets create a $9.6 million trade exception through the deal, with Dillingham arriving to a backcourt that lost longtime starter LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves earlier this offseason
- Second-year guard Kon Knueppel was sidelined with a hamstring injury one day before the trade was announced, further thinning Charlotte's guard rotation
- Hield reunites with Bulls executive vice president Bryson Graham, with whom he previously worked in New Orleans
Why it matters: Chicago is giving up on a top-10 pick after just half a season to take back a 33-year-old veteran on an expiring-value contract, a clear signal the Bulls are prioritizing the present over developing Dillingham. Charlotte, meanwhile, gains a young guard with upside precisely as its backcourt is depleted by the LaMelo Ball trade and Knueppel's hamstring injury, and pockets a $9.6 million trade exception to use later.
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