Restricted free agent Miles Bridges hasn’t been receiving the types of contract offers he was hoping for from the Hornets, so he intends to sign his $7,744,600 qualifying offer in order to become an unrestricted free agent next year, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, signing the one-year qualifying offer would give Bridges the power to veto trades. However, if he were to approve a trade, the team that acquires him would lose his Bird rights.
Shams Charania of The Athletic hears (via Twitter) that a final contract offer was presented on Sunday before talks broke down, but he doesn’t clarify whether that offer came from Charlotte or Bridges’ camp — or perhaps both.
The 25-year-old forward sat out the entire 2022-23 season after facing a felony domestic violence charge. He agreed to a plea deal and was subsequently suspended by the NBA, who will require him to sit out the first 10 games of 2023-24.
Prior to that incident, Bridges was viewed as one of the top free agents of the 2022 class, having averaged 20.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 3.8 APG on 49.1% shooting in 80 games (35.5 MPG) in 2021-22.
Leading into free agency, it was impossible to know exactly how the Hornets and the rest of the NBA would value the former lottery pick, who was selected 12th overall in the 2018 draft. As valuable as Bridges can be on the court, the repugnant behavior he was accused of away from it likely gave potential suitors pause about inviting him to represent their franchise.
Clearly, the Hornets had the leverage in contract negotiations after Bridges missed the entire season. None of the teams with cap room decided to pursue him, but maybe that will change in 2024 if he has a strong season without further legal trouble.
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