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Spurs trade Devonte' Graham to Hornets, open up cap space

The San Antonio Spurs have traded guard Devonte' Graham and a second-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets, it was announced Saturday.

The Hornets then waived Graham, 29, to allow him to become a free agent.

The second round pick in the deal is a 2025 New Orleans Pelicans pick that the Spurs own. Charlotte also sent back cash considerations in the deal.

According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Spurs will be approximately $26 million below the salary cap before the execution of the Chris Paul contract signing.

Graham was set to enter the final year of a four-year contract he originally signed with the Hornets in 2021 in a sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. He was set to make $12.65 million in 2024-25, but only $2.85 million of that deal was guaranteed.

The original guarantee date for the deal was July 1, but sources told ESPN last week that the date was pushed back to July 8.

As the Spurs focused on playing younger players, Graham saw the court sparingly last season for San Antonio, appearing in only in 23 games. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.1 assists in the games he was on the court and averaged 8.1 points and 3.5 assists in the final eight games of the season -- when he averaged 23.6 minutes.