Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges contract situation is unique

The Charlotte Hornets have one of the most unique contract situations in the NBA right now with the pending restricted free agency of Miles Bridges in the 2022 offseason – now less than a year away.

Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges contract situation is unique

Miles Bridges, 23 years old, drastically improved last season – as a passer, scorer, and defender. He is by no means a star in the NBA yet, but to say that he doesn’t have that type of potential would be misleading.

This past season, Bridges averaged 13 points, six rebounds, and two assists per game on shooting splits of 50/40/87 – that’s phenomenal for a role player – and it is possible that Bridges’s development towards the end of last season thrusts him into the starting lineup in 2021-22.

Still, though, the prospect of paying Miles Bridges a large amount of money can be scary in the eyes of Hornets fans – especially for a team that only has two players locked into big deals long-term (Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward).

With that said, Bridges brings a highly desirable skill set to the Hornets – and one that will maintain its value over the length of a long-term, expensive contract. As a 6-foot-7 combo forward, Bridges brings elite spot-up shooting, always-improving defense, as well as all-world athleticism. He is the type of player most teams would regret not paying for.

That really is to say that the Hornets have three options when it comes to Bridges and his contract: sign Bridges to an extension in the 2022 offseason, trade him before the deadline, or complete a sign-and-trade in restricted free agency.

*Quick note here: Charlotte cannot extend Bridges after the season starts. They would have to wait until free agency opens in 2022 to do so, should they not be able to extend him this offseason.

Well, damn. None of that sounds particularly appealing. Waiting until next offseason could mean Bridges gets a lot more money, possibly because a team throws an offer sheet at him, one he can’t refuse to sign. That would leave the Hornets to either possibly overpay Bridges (or lose him for nothing if they decide not to match the contract).

Trading Bridges is also risky. The return on investment may not be worth the package that Bridges hauls in. The closest situation I can think of that would parallel Bridges is when Jarrett Allen was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for what was essentially only a single first-round draft pick. Allen is a great player – he signed a massive extension to remain in Cleveland this past offseason. But his return could be similar to what Bridges would go for if the Hornets decided to move him.

The final option would be to complete a sign-and-trade with Bridges, one which sees him going to a different team, with the Hornets bringing in a package similar to what the Bulls sent for Lonzo Ball this past summer (the Pelicans received Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, and a 2024 2nd-round pick).

That brings us to the present day. Miles Bridges is a really good role player, one that would almost certainly retain his value over a long contract. I mean, look at how many versatile forwards are both highly paid yet still retain their trade value: Harrison Barnes, OG Anunoby, Aaron Gordon, etc. That isn’t to say that a big Bridges extension could be a bad contract in the long run, but he would still almost certainly yield value for at least 3-4 more seasons.

Everything I’ve said here is under the assumption that Bridges doesn’t get better from where he currently is, which probably won’t happen. Bridges still has a lot of growing to do – and if the development from the latter half of last season is real, then the Hornets need to do everything within their power to keep him alongside LaMelo Ball for years to come.