Hornets forward Miles Bridges will jump right into the rotation when his suspension is lifted on Friday, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News reports (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports).
That may come as a surprise to some people in light of Bridges’ most recent domestic violence allegations.
Bridges was suspended for the first 10 games of this season. That concluded an NBA investigation into the original domestic violence incident that forced him to miss all of last season while his legal case played out. He signed a one-year, $7.92M qualifying offer as a restricted free agent in July.
“I think he’ll be ready to play. He’s in practice every day,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “So, he’s been well organized when he’s there. He’s in really good shape. He’s worked hard. I’ll be honest, we’ve been playing every other day… But he will have a significant role right away.”
Bridges will be eligible to play against Milwaukee on Friday.
His latest off-the-court incident occurred on Oct. 6 during a custody exchange at Bridges’ residence in Charlotte. The 25-year-old allegedly threw billiard balls at his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle while their two children were inside it, which smashed the windshield and dented her car. The summons also stated that Bridges threatened his former girlfriend.
The CBA requires the NBA to left the legal process to play out. The team could have taken action but that hasn’t happened. As Clifford said, Bridges has been attending practices regularly during his suspension.
Bridges is scheduled to appear in court on Monday to answer a summons tied to a violation of a protective order from January, which is separate from the October incident.
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