Miles Bridges, formerly of the Charlotte Hornets, is likely itching to get back to the basketball court after a season-long absence because of legal issues.
The expectation surrounding his return is that he will probably re-sign with the Hornets, according to league insider Marc Stein.
“Free agency is still two months away as of today, but the repeated expectation shared by rival teams is that Bridges is likely to re-sign with the Hornets,” Stein wrote on his Substack.
The 25-year-old hasn’t played since the end of the 2021-22 season after he was accused of hitting the mother of his children last year. Bridges managed to avoid jail time as he submitted a plea of no contest to the charge of felony domestic violence.
For its part, the NBA also conducted an investigation into the former lottery pick and decided to impose a 30-game suspension on him. But because he didn’t play at all in this campaign, the league has ruled that 20 of those contests have already been served.
One of Bridges’ next steps is finding a home in the NBA. There have been concerns about whether an organization would want to bring in a player with his type of history.
Still, the 6-foot-7 forward has the skill set that plenty of teams, especially contenders, could find use for.
He is a versatile forward who can keep defenses honest, as evidenced by his average of 20.2 points per game in the 2021-22 campaign. Also, he has shown an ability to contribute to other areas, such as rebounding and playmaking.
As such, the Hornets might be looking to retain his services. After all, he was one of the squad’s brightest spots last season, leading the team in scoring and registering the second-highest rebounds per game mark behind Mason Plumlee.
Charlotte also seems to have missed him dearly, as its offense took a huge dip in the 2022-23 season. Consequently, the Hornets became much worse, finishing second to last in the Eastern Conference after a run to 10th place in the conference last season.
Only time will tell where Bridges ends up. But it’s likely that he will decide to stay with the only NBA franchise he has ever known.
