![\"Tari](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kwmrxf8rrr3z00dbz9.jpg\" "\\"Tari")
<\/p>\nThe Houston Rockets are remaking their roster and seeking improved financial flexibility, which is why Dorian Finney-Smith will suit up with the Charlotte Hornets in 2026-27 instead of returning for Year 2 of a four-year, $53 million deal inked last offseason.<\/p>\n
The Hornets were compensated with three second-round picks for taking on his contract, allowing Houston to have some breathing room after agreeing to deals with guards Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic.<\/p>\n
The Rockets also have created a $13 million trade exception as a result of this transaction.<\/p>\n
Finney-Smith is due just north of $13 million for each of the next two seasons and has a player option he\u2019ll likely exercise for 2028-29. He was set to be Houston\u2019s sixth-highest paid player behind Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, Jr. and Tari Eason.<\/p>\n
Set to enter his 11th season, Finney-Smith turned 33 years old in May but is still a highly respected \u201c3 and D\u201d guy who has plug-and-play attributes on the wing. Injuries limited DFS to 37 games last season, all but one of which came as a reserve, and career-lows of 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and a 27 percent shooting clip from 3-point range.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Hornets are retooling their roster, having moved point guard LaMelo Ball (Minnesota) and combo forward Miles Bridges (Phoenix) while adding 3-point shooters like big man Naz Reid and prolific marksman Grayson Allen to a roster that features recent lottery picks Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel. Finney-Smith should vie for reserve minutes behind those wings.<\/p>\n
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May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) reacts after a made basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the Rockets agreed to a five-year $85 million deal to keep Eason<\/a>, a restricted free agent who would\u2019ve been higher on the pecking order than Finney-Smith in Ime Udoka\u2019s frontcourt rotation. This deal now means Houston can make better use of its resources but does cost them valuable draft capital that gives Charlotte 20 second-round picks over the next seven years.<\/p>\n The selections the Rockets are sending the Hornets are a 2027 choice obtained from Memphis that may be very valuable, and their own picks in \u201828 and \u201833.<\/p>\n Houston didn\u2019t have a first-round pick in this most recent draft, but added a potential key piece in Ohio State product Bruce Thornton<\/a>, with pick No. 31, the first of the second round. JD Davison, originally a second-round choice of the Boston Celtics who saw time off the bench last season, got his option picked up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Davison won\u2019t play for the Rockets in the Las Vegas Summer League, but Thornton will be joined by another former second-rounder working on a two-way deal in former two-time NCAA champ Tristen Newton, a combo guard. Another two-way player, undrafted forward Isaiah Crawford, is also on the roster after seeing time with Houston last season.<\/p>\n
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