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The Charlotte Hornets are hoping to turn things around in the 2024-25 campaign, as they have a collection of talented young players they are building around. Further helping their cause is the return of Miles Bridges, as it was announced that the talented forward had re-signed with the team in free agency on a three-year, $75 million deal.
Free agent F Miles Bridges has agreed on a three-year, $75 million deal to return to the Charlotte Hornets, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/8uQ2fLaDDC
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2024
The past few years have been a bit rocky for Bridges, as he missed the entire 2022-23 campaign after he was involved in a domestic violence case. Bridges was initially handed a 30-game suspension, but after he missed a whole season, he was given credit for 20 games served, resulting in him missing the first ten games of the 2023-24 campaign.
Bridges' return to the NBA was certainly controversial, but once he made it back, he put his head down and picked up right where he left off on the court (21 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 46.2 FG%). Now, he will be sticking around for at least three more seasons as Charlotte hopes to begin turning themselves into a consistent playoff contender.
Hornets hoping Miles Bridges can continue to be a key piece for them
The Hornets future revolves around budding stars LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, but they can't do everything on their own. Having a reliable secondary scorer in Bridges who can chip in 20 points a night while also contributing on the glass is a huge luxury to have, and they did well to re-sign him to a contract that isn't overly expensive, although his off-court issues likely played a role in that development.
Assuming Bridges can stay on the court, while also keeping himself out of trouble, this deal will be a steal for Charlotte. He already has familiarity playing in Charlotte alongside their current cast of players, and at just 26 years old, there's a case to be made that he still has room to grow on the court as well.
Charlotte's roster is still largely a work-in-progress, but assuming guys like Ball and Mark Williams can stay healthy this upcoming season, they could be a dark-horse playoff contender in the Eastern Conference. There's no doubt the Hornets are talented, but they need to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together, which is why re-signing Bridges is a sneaky big move for this team.
Bridges still has a lot of work to do to get himself back into the good graces of fans everywhere, and that is completely understandable. From a basketball perspective, though, this move is a huge win for the Hornets as they attempt to develop some continuity among their current team. And if Bridges can continue to perform at a high level, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them go on a playoff run next season.
