Miles Bridges has had a breakout season with the Charlotte Hornets this year. He averaged 20.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.8 APG, while also playing stellar perimeter defense. He will be a restricted free agent this offseason, and it remains to be seen if the Charlotte Hornets end up retaining him.
Shams Charania of The Athletic has recently revealed that “rival executives” believe that Miles Bridges will get a max or a near-max contract in free agency. The Charlotte Hornets would reportedly be hesitant to match a full max contract for Bridges.
Rival executives expect Hornets restricted free agent Miles Bridges to command a maximum — or near-max — deal in July, and sources said there’s hesitancy from Charlotte to match a max sheet. Bridges had a breakout season in 2021-22, averaging 20.2 points, seven rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. In a league that saw wings such as Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins and Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have game-changing impacts on a run to the NBA Finals, Bridges’ two-way ability on the wing has become incredibly valued toward winning.
If the choice is between giving Miles Bridges a max contract or letting him walk in free agency, then the Charlotte Hornets should definitely offer him the contract. He is still a good player with the room to improve, and he could potentially be a perennial All-Star level player for years to come if he develops correctly. As Charania notes, two-way wing players are “incredibly valued toward winning”, and there’s no doubt that Miles Bridges fits that category.
There are theoretical sign-and-trades that could make sense for the Hornets when it comes to Miles Bridges, so that is an avenue that should be explored if the Hornets are dead-set on not giving Miles Bridges a max contract. However, the optimal move would be for them to retain Miles Bridges, and make him and LaMelo Ball their cornerstones of the future.
