The Charlotte Hornets released former Kentucky guard and highly regarded first round pick Rob Dillingham giving him a chance to clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent. The Hornets' decision to cut Dillingham was a surprise after he scored 9.6 points in just over 21 minutes last season.

Dillingham, who was traded from the Bulls for Buddy Hield, brings a lightning quick yet undersized guard with issues shooting the ball. He needs to continue to improve, but he can still be a contributor at the NBA level if he works toward developing the talents he flashed in Kentucky and the talents he flashed with the Bulls last season.

Here are the three best landing spots for the high octane fourth year guard.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have plenty of cap space and had success with an undersized guard by the name of Ja Morant for seven seasons, from 2019 to 2026. Scotty Pippen Jr. is the Grizzlies' projected starting point guard with Ty Jerome his backup.

Bringing in Dillingham would provide practice and training camp competition for Pippen Jr. and Jerome. Jerome and Dillingham would challenge each other in practice while helping each other to improve different areas of their game as Jerome has a higher basketball IQ than Dillingham and Dillingham is a better athlete who would force Jerome to play and learn at a faster pace each day in practice.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets have a thin depth chart in the backcourt with Mikel Brown Jr., a rookie, the projected starter at point guard. The Nets need more competition and more players with potential and Dillingham could be one of them.

Dillingham gives up three inches in height to Brown Jr. but has the experience and aggressiveness to challenge Brown Jr. in training camp which could bring out the best in the former Louisville Cardinals star.

Article Continues Below

Dillingham would give up a lot of size in the Nets backcourt but he would bring a different dimension to the team that Brown Jr., Ben Saraf and Ego Demin lack with his speed and ability to push the ball up court.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons have taken fliers on several different undersized guards in recent years and continue to roll the dice with players like 2026 first round pick Ebuka Okorie. Former experiment Marcus Sasser is now on the Dallas Mavericks with Dusty May and Kyrie Irving giving the Detroit roster a need for more depth.

Okorie has great skills but needs someone to push him in practice. Daniss Jenkins is a decent spot starter and spot-up shooter but his game is limited. Dillingham has the talent to come in and shake things up on coach JB Bickerstaff's team from the get-go.

He has a lot to work on in terms of his efficiency and shooting accuracy but the Pistons are a team full of players with those particular skills including Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson. Dillingham could provide a spark off the Pistons bench while making his teammates better.

That seems like the best role for him in 2026-27 as he begins to process everything he's been through in the past few years and looks for a home after his shocking release from the Hornets.

The fact that Dillingham was traded for Hield shows that he still has value in the National Basketball Association; soon it will be time for him to prove it all over again.