Hornets Waive Rob Dillingham Days After Trading Buddy Hield for Him

The Charlotte Hornets just waived former No. 8 overall pick Rob Dillingham, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Waiving a recent lottery pick is already wild, but the timeline here is what makes it a masterpiece of front-office chaos. Charlotte literally just acquired Dillingham from the Chicago Bulls over the weekend in exchange for Buddy Hield and cash.

"The Charlotte Hornets are waiving former No. 8 pick Rob Dillingham, sources tell ESPN."

That means the Hornets looked at an elite three-point specialist, traded him for a young guard with a wrist injury, and then immediately decided they would rather have an empty locker than keep the guy they just traded for.

Dillingham had actually been carving out a decent role in Chicago, logging at least 20 minutes in seven of his last eight games before the trade. Now, he hits the waiver wire with a lingering wrist issue and a resume that suddenly includes being a human salary-cap placeholder.

For the Bulls, turning a rotational piece into Hield is a massive win for their floor spacing. For Charlotte, this is the kind of transaction that makes you wonder if the front office is playing 4D chess or just accidentally hitting buttons on the trade machine.

If you are holding any Hornets futures, moves like this are a loud reminder that this team is prioritizing financial flexibility over putting a coherent basketball product on the floor.

Dillingham now enters the waiver wire, where a point-guard-needy team will almost certainly take a flier on his pedigree once that wrist heals. As for Charlotte, they get to enjoy the cash considerations, which unfortunately cannot shoot threes.