The Charlotte Hornets' Miles Bridges remained at the center of trade rumors ahead of the deadline Thursday, but the controversial forward stayed put, which he said is just fine by him.
After Charlotte's 120-84 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Bridges indicated, according to the Charlotte Observer's Rod Boone, that he would be willing to re-sign with the Hornets.
“Yeah, like I said I would love to be here long term,” Bridges said. “I feel like if we had our full team we would have already been a playoff team and then we wouldn’t even be having these talks. So, we’ve just got to get our guys back and I’m excited to be here.”
Bridges had been at the center of rumors, the most legitimate of which seemed to be a trade to the Phoenix Suns. However, Bridges had the rare ability to veto any trade he did not approve of, and several hours before the trade deadline, Bridges' agent, Rich Paul, said Bridges would not approve of any trade and would stay in Charlotte through the end of the season.
Phoenix's reported desire to land the 25-year-old forward drew criticism from some fans as a result of Bridges' conviction for felony domestic violence stemming from a June 2022 incident in which Bridges was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend in front of their two children. Bridges pled no contest to the charge and was sentenced to three years of probation.
Bridges, who was set to hit restricted free agency during the summer in which he was accused of assault, did not play for the entire 2022-23 NBA season despite the Hornets having extended a qualifying offer to him. The NBA ultimately suspended Bridges for 30 games in April 2023. Bridges signed the qualifying offer in July 2023.
In a separate alleged incident, Bridges was charged in October 2023 with violating his probation and a protective order after he was accused of throwing billiard balls at the car of the same woman while their children were in the vehicle. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20.
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