"A lot of different interest" in Miles Bridges trade ahead of deadline
By Ben Handler
Miles Bridges’ career with the Charlotte Hornets has been quite the saga, and it seems that tenure may finally come to an end as we’re now within 24 hours of the NBA trade deadline. There has been plenty of noise around Bridges, as he’s a good player, on only a $7.9 million expiring deal.
It’s been known that the Suns are interested in Bridges, and there have been other whispers about teams like the Mavericks, Jazz, and Pistons, but nothing concrete has materialized. The growing sentiment has been that the Hornets will keep Bridges and work to extend him this offseason using Bird Rights - possibly to flip him to another team.
But on the Tuesday episode of the Hoops Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned Bridges as a player he expects to be traded before the deadline, stating:
“It looks like there’s a good chance that the Hornets are going to move Miles Bridges…There’s a lot of different interest in him”.
This isn’t exactly concrete either, but Windhorst and his ESPN colleagues, Tim Bontemps and Tim McMahon discussed the unique circumstances surrounding Bridges, starting with his off-court trouble and legal issues that led to him sitting out for an entire season, and being forced to sign the qualifying offer last offseason.
That’s why Bridges is only making $7.9 million, but that qualifying offer does grant him veto power over any deal. So ultimately, the ball is in his court so to speak, and he will have the final say in his own destiny. But it sounds like the Hornets are ready to move on and end this tumultuous saga once and for all, rather than deal with it in the offseason.
It’s still possible nothing materializes and Bridges stays with the team - which is the right move if the best offers are just second-round picks and salary matches - but hopefully, Windhorst is right about league-wide interest and some team is willing to step in and meet the Hornets asking price before Thursday at 3 PM.
It’s still possible nothing materializes and Bridges stays with the team - which is the right move if the best offers are just second-round picks and salary matches - but hopefully, Windhorst is right about league-wide interest and some team is willing to step in and meet the Hornets asking price before Thursday at 3 PM.