Hornets Trading Miles Bridges To Suns

The 2029 first-round pick headed to Phoenix will be the least favorable of Utah’s, Minnesota’s and Cleveland’s selections and is top-five protected, while the 2027 second-rounder is the least favorable of Boston and Orlando’s picks, tweets Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. The 2033 first-rounder is the Suns’ own unprotected pick, per Charania (Twitter link).

Bridges has long been linked to the Suns, who’ve unsuccessfully tried to tried for him multiple times in the past. The 28-year-old power forward has multiple Michigan State ties to the Suns, whose owner Mat Ishbia is a former Spartan and has made a habit of filling out the organization with people connected to the school.

The trade will be finalized when the moratorium period ends on July 6, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Bridges ($22.8MM) is entering the final year of his contract and will be extension-eligible this offseason, Marks adds.

O’Neale will earn a guaranteed $10.9MM next season and $11.6MM in 2026/27. Allen makes $18.1MM in ’26/27, followed by a $19.4MM player option for ’27/28.

The Suns could save approximately $30MM toward their projected luxury tax bill with the trade, according to Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron (Twitter links). They’ll also create a $10.9MM traded player exception, which will hard-cap them at the first apron.

Charlotte was said to be looking to move on from Bridges and acquired another valuable future first-round pick by taking on the contracts of Allen and O’Neale. The Suns, meanwhile, will now have access to first-round picks from 2027-30, though all of those selections have least favorable language.

A 2018 lottery pick who has spent his entire NBA career in Charlotte, Bridges averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 31.0 minutes per game in 2025/26, registering a .460/.333/.822 shooting line over the course of 77 regular season contests (all starts).

Bridges was reported in January to be drawing legitimate trade interest from a handful of potential suitors, including Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Golden State. Detroit was also linked to the veteran forward.

While Bridges has proven to be a durable, versatile option on the wing, he’s not an elite defender or a reliable three-point shooter, having converted at least 35.0% of his outside shots just once in his seven years in the league. Potential trade partners will also need to consider his off-court history — he lost a full season in 2022/23 after he was arrested on felony domestic violence charges just ahead of his restricted free agency. He later accepted a plea deal in that case and had three criminal counts related to separate domestic allegations dismissed.

Gozlan wonders (via Twitter) if the trade might be looped into the LaMelo Ball blockbuster, since the Wolves are looking for a forward and O’Neale may not be in the Hornets’ long-term plans.

There was some thought that the Hornets might aggressively look for upgrades this summer after finishing last season on a 33-15 run, but instead they agreed to trade away their longest-tenured players in Bridges and Ball. But they received some solid players (Naz Reid, Allen and O’Neale) in those deals, plus two unprotected 2033 first-round picks and multiple second-rounders.

In other words, Charlotte may be in a better long-term position now than it was before those agreed upon transactions. The Hornets are tentatively $41.8MM below the luxury tax line, per Gozlan (Twitter link), giving the team plenty of financial flexibility to make additional trades or moves in free agency.

Allen averaged career highs in points (16.5), assists (3.8) and steals (1.4) per game last season, though he struggled with injuries (50 appearances) and shot 34.9% from three-point range, well below his career rate of 40.3%. O’Neale, 33, averaged 9.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.1 SPG in 78 games, including 67 starts (28.4 MPG).

This is the fourth trade between the Suns and Hornets since January 2025, notes Siegel (Twitter link).