The Charlotte Hornets have been an active NBA franchise in remaking their roster throughout the 2026 NBA offseason. As a fellow rebuilding NBA franchise, the Chicago Bulls should keep a close eye on the moves the Hornets make for both competitive and collaborative purposes.
In the latest example, the Hornets agreed to a trade with the Atlanta Hawks that sends forward Dorian Finney-Smith to Atlanta in exchange for guards Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard, and cash considerations (wink wink), according to reports from ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Surveying the immediate aftermath of the trade, the Hornets are in a roster-crunch situation in which they must trim their current active player roster from 19 to 15 players by Oct 19, 2026, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. In this case, the Bulls have an optimal collaborative opportunity for the taking by acquiring guard Pat Connaughton from the Charlotte Hornets.
Connaughton’s case for a Bulls rebuild
Pat Connaughton’s obvious impact that he would instantly deliver to the Bulls is his three-point shooting ability. However, the other obvious contribution he would provide to the Bulls on the intangible side is his NBA championship pedigree as a member of the 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks title team.
Culture-building is the name of the game right now for Bryson Graham’s Bulls rebuild, and adding another championship veteran to the locker room in addition to Norman Powell would add much-needed shooting depth and another locker room voice that has played NBA basketball at the highest levels of the league, just like Powell.
Connaughton can also provide serviceable team defense off the bench, averaging 1.3 steals per 36 minutes for the Hornets during the 2025-26 NBA season.
Overall, one mustn’t forget that Connaughton is entering the 2026-27 NBA season on a cost-effective $3.8 million salary, so the basketball fit, intangibles, and financial impact make him an attractive player to target for the Bulls' 15th active roster spot.
Standing pat (pun intended) is cool too
An equally fine alternative is that the Bulls do absolutely nothing at this point and carry the open roster spot plus their $9.4 million room exception into the 2026-27 NBA regular season and flex those assets to upgrade the roster by the 2027 NBA trade deadline.
In this scenario, one would hope that half a season of Bulls basketball film would arm the Bulls braintrust of Graham and head coach Tiago Splitter with enough insight to make a roster move in February 2027 that isn’t just about short-term flexibility, but ultimately about acquiring a player that can deliver long-term impact to the Bulls.
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