Back in the offseason, many among the Charlotte Hornets faithful had been vocal in disagreeing with the team's plan to keep rolling with Miles Bridges as the starting power forward. Eight games into the regular season, and it looks like there is merit to their assertion.
Some of the arguments fans raised included Bridges's reputation as an inefficient shot-chucker and lack of height, which limits his ability to defend taller forwards or play as a small-ball center. Based on what we've seen from him so far this season, both lines of reasoning have rung true.
The veteran's 41.9 percent shooting would be a career low if the season ended today. He has also caused some frustration among the team's fan base with his tendency to play iso ball, which arguably contributed to its disappointing loss to the previously winless New Orleans Pelicans. On defense, he has tried during some possessions, although he is still sometimes the same undisciplined ball watcher he has been in the previous years.
Miles Bridges' redeeming qualities are not enough to justify his role
Of course, it hasn't all been negative with Bridges, who, to be fair, had done his best to carry the Hornets' offense with Brandon Miller out for a while and LaMelo Ball needing to sit out a couple of games to rest his ailing ankle.
The 27-year-old forward, in spite of his inefficient scoring, has been recording a career-high 21.5 points per game. He has also worked on one of his key weaknesses last year, his outside shooting, as evidenced by his average of 3.1 3-pointers per contest on 37.3 percent shooting.
The rebounding numbers have marginally dipped (6.6 boards per game), but that may be caused by Charlotte pushing the pace and looking for as many fastbreak opportunities as possible.
Interestingly, Bridges has taken good care of the ball this season, turning it over just 1.1 times per match after averaging over 2.0 turnovers per game in each of the past two campaigns. Given that he dishes out 3.5 assists per contest, his assist-per-turnover ratio is remarkable.
Even so, the Hornets can benefit from finding a significant upgrade for their starting power forward slot. Do they have to trade him then? Maybe if Jeff Peterson can snag a serviceable player and draft capital in return. However, achieving such a return is nigh impossible, primarily because Bridges's value isn't that high. Still, the fact that he can fill the stat sheet a bit should intrigue some contenders in need of bench depth.
The problem with sending him to a new home is that Charlotte does not have anyone to replace Bridges in the starting lineup, with Grant Williams still sidelined and Tidjane Saluan having recently been sent to the doghouse. In fact, finding a roster replacement would also be a hard nut to crack, since the four position is arguably the Hornets' weakest.
So, it seems the best they can do now is tough it out until the trade deadline, or even the 2026 offseason, and hope that Bridges can be a better serviceable stopgap as a starter.
Maybe the Hornets will get some good fortune next summer in the form of an opportunity to draft an NBA-ready power forward or sign or trade for a power forward who is willing to bring his talents to the Queen City.