What will Miles Bridges’ return to the Charlotte Hornets look like?

It is now generally accepted that Miles Bridges will be returning from suspension and will be playing for the Charlotte Hornets next season. The restricted free agent was officially suspended for 30 days because of a domestic violence incident with the mother of his children that led to court-ordered counseling. While the suspension was for 30 days, Bridges didn’t play in the NBA all last season. The league ruled that 20 of his 30-game suspension will be attributed to time served, meaning that he will miss 10 games of the 2023-24 season.

The bare bones of what will occur and where Bridges will be are pretty clear. But there’s the human aspect of what Bridges returning to the court will actually look like. How long will it take him to return to the form that had him on the precipice of a huge payday? How will he be received by his teammates? How will the fans receive him? There won’t be any way to avoid a difficult transition. He was arrested for a violent crime and had intimate details of his private relationship spilled onto the national news. His arrest was arguably the most discourse even tangentially related to the team all year.

Realistically, what will the return of Miles Bridges look like?

For what it’s worth, the few times he pulled up to Hornets games, he seemed to be greeted well by some of his teammates. Moreover, LaMelo Ball publicly said that he missed Bridges while adding that he didn’t know everything about the situation. Ball’s relationship with Bridges likely played a large part in the team wanting him back. The connection the two shared on and off the court was obvious.

From strictly a basketball point of view, the league’s worst offense could use a dynamic player like Bridges. He had improved his handle, which allowed him to initiate more in the halfcourt. His 4.2 free throw attempts a game in 2021-22 was a career-high and indicated that he was comfortable attacking the basket and using his strong 6’6 225-pound frame. He had taken the leap offensively from a high-flyer with a three-point stroke, to a three-level, consistent scorer. His 20.2 points per game led the team that season. With an entire year away from competitive basketball, his learning curve to get back to his peak will be something to monitor.

And perhaps for some fans that’s all that matters. What he does on the court. Separating the art from the artist is a common way fans process beloved creators’ bad behavior. Some will struggle with that mightily. The ubiquitous nature of intimate partner violence will disturb some members of the fanbase more because of their own personal experiences with it. And that’s just the Charlotte Hornets’ fanbase. On the road, Bridges will likely have to deal with a whole host of people that didn’t need the incentive to dislike him in the first place.

There will be lots of opinions about whether the Hornets should have brought him back. And even more about what the proper punishment should have been, and how much he should be publicly judged for his worst moment. Ultimately the largest change and growth will have to happen for Bridges away from the cameras. But it’d be foolish to pretend public perception won’t influence how smoothly he’ll be integrated back into the Hornets’ culture.