Hornets trade Scotty Hopson to Pelicans one day after acquiring him

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One day after acquiring him from the Cleveland Cavaliers as consideration for Dwight Powell and Brendan Haywood, the Charlotte Hornets have traded Scotty Hopson to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Hornets announced the deal on the team's website on Sunday, indicating the Pelicans sent them cash in return.

If this all seems very strange, it kind of is, but it all comes down to dollars. The draft-night trade of Haywood and the No. 45 overall pick (Powell), originally thought to be for the non-guaranteed contract of Alonzo Gee, was a way for the Hornets to clear the $2.2 million owed to Haywood off of their books. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, may have saw value in the large 2014-15 non-guaranteed deal of Haywood, and were paid with Powell to swallow Haywood's 2013-14 salary.

This subsequent deal with the Pelicans is slightly less obvious, since Hopson has a fully non-guaranteed contract worth $1.45 million. The Hornets had probably planned to waive him, but the Pelicans paid them a small stipend for him, almost surely as a potential salary-matching chip for a later deal. Non-guaranteed contracts, especially those worth more than the minimum like Hopson's, are valuable assets in the middle of the offseason, if a team can afford to have him on their books.

Hopson also plays basketball, by the way, scoring one point in seven minutes over two games with Cleveland last season. Hopson scored seven points in 14 minutes in the Cavs' Summer League opener on Friday but did not play Sunday, likely because he's no longer a Cavalier.