Hornets forward Miles Bridges entered a plea of not guilty to three felony domestic violence charges during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
Bridges’ next court appointment is on Aug. 19, according to Holmes, who says a date for a preliminary hearing is set to be scheduled at that time. The L.A. District Attorney’s office indicated that Bridges could face a maximum sentence of 11 years and eight months in prison if he’s convicted of the three domestic abuse charges he faces, tweets Steve Reed of the Associated Press.
The NBA will wait for the legal process to play out before determining whether to levy any penalties of its own against Bridges. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the league wouldn’t have the ability to suspend Bridges if he’s found not guilty. However, a suspension is possible if he’s found guilty, he reaches a plea deal or the charges are dropped.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Heat haven’t made any major outside additions to their roster this offseason, but if Victor Oladipo rounds back into form, that could represent a significant upgrade for the team in lieu of a trade acquisition or free agent signing, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Oladipo has played just 12 games for Miami since arriving at the 2021 deadline but should be healthier in 2022-23 than he has been at any point since originally injuring his quad tendon in early 2020.
- Keith Langlois of Pistons.com takes a look at the Pistons‘ projected starting five, suggesting that Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey are locks to be part of that group and will likely be joined by Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey. Several players could be in the mix for the fifth starting spot, according to Langlois, who views Isaiah Livers as the slight favorite over Marvin Bagley III, Alec Burks and others.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores the new agreement between James Harden and the Sixers, wondering if the two sides have a wink-wink agreement to complete a lucrative long-term deal next summer or if Philadelphia is hedging its bets by not making a long-term commitment to Harden at this point.
More must-reads: