For the better part of the season, Miles Bridges has been at the center of trade discussion, generating interest from plenty of teams leaguewide.
Who was once a prime trade chip, was recently pulled off the market.
The Charlotte Hornets were dangling forward Miles Bridges to teams across the league in search of a first round draft pick, but since the packages they received were underwhelming, they decided to keep their longest-tenured player.
Sam Amick of The Athletic reported early Tuesday morning that Bridges generated interest from the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns.
After starting the season with a measly 13-25 record, there was a feeling about the Hornets around the league of “well, here we go again,” since Charlotte has effectively been in lottery discussions for the better part of 20 years.
However, Charlotte’s recent hot streak, that includes eight wins in a row, has made General Manager Jeff Peterson’s job a whole lot easier, opting to add, rather than stack draft picks.
As already reported, he made a trade to add guard Coby White, an 18 point per game scorer this season with the Chicago Bulls, to back up LaMelo Ball
When the Hornets start games with a lineup of Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Bridges and Moussa Diabate, they hold a 12-1 record and are one of the more efficient lineups in the NBA.
Currently, Bridges’ contract runs through the end of next season, which means there’s a real chance that we see him wearing teal next season again.
Bridges has gone on record saying that he wants to remain a Hornet to maintain the chemistry that he and the guys have formed, but acknowledged the complications of the business.
"I feel like everybody else wants everybody to stay together," he told the Charlotte Observer last month. "But you've just got to control what you can control, continue to stack games."
For the Hornets, keeping someone like Bridges is crucial to Charlotte’s run. He may not be a superstar in this league, but he’s a proven scorer with eye-popping athleticism and a decent ability to shoot from the perimeter – primarily on corner 3s.
Head coach Charles Lee sticks Bridges at the power forward position, and while Bridges plays more like a wing, there’s enough size on this roster with Diabate, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Grant Williams and Tidjane Salaun battling down low instead.
It’s clear that this winning streak meant a lot to the Hornets brass, and the only logical way to address it at the Trade Deadline, is to reward them.
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