Charlotte Hornets cut two players one day after NBA Draft as roster reconstruction begins

Seth Curry’s time with his hometown team is over — for now, at least.

The Charlotte Hornets waived Curry on Friday in advance of his contract becoming fully guaranteed. But the move doesn’t mean Curry, acquired with Grant Williams and a 2027 first-round pick from Dallas in exchange for PJ Washington at the NBA trade deadline in February, is out of the team’s future plans.

Curry was set to earn $4 million in 2024-24 in the final season of the two-year, $8 million he inked with the Mavericks last summer, and the Hornets are likely maneuvering so they can maximize as much salary cap space as possible leading into an offseason filled with questions surrounding whether they will re-sign unrestricted free agent Miles Bridges.

Curry appeared in eight games for the Hornets, averaging eight points, two rebounds and 1.8 assists before suffering a season-ending ankle sprain hours after playing against brother Steph Curry and Golden State with their father, Dell Curry calling the game on Bally Sports Southeast. He said he expected to make a completely healthy recovery and was hopeful of getting back into his usual workout regime leading into the summer.

Besides letting Curry go, the Hornets also said goodbye to JT Thor. They declined the fourth-year option on his rookie contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Thor averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 165 games, and never really established any consistency offensively despite getting several opportunities to be a key contributor. His departure means the Hornets don’t have any players from their 2021-22 draft class remaining since James Bouknight, Kai Jones and Scottie Lewis are already all long gone, each also having been waived.