The Hornets may have thought they were getting a clean reset when they moved Miles Bridges, but every Suns game seems to make that deal look rougher. Charlotte sent Bridges to Phoenix and came away with Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neal, and the Suns’ 2033 unprotected first-round pick. The front office also included a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick in the deal, which only adds to the sense that Charlotte didn’t get enough back for a player who keeps producing.
Bridges has done nothing to soften that criticism since landing in Phoenix. He has been one of the most reliable pieces on the floor for the Suns, and his production has made the Hornets’ return look thinner by the week. If Charlotte was trying to tear things down and build toward something new, this was a strange place to start.
That’s especially true because Bridges had already been the Hornets’ steadiest presence for years, even while playing in LaMelo Ball’s shadow. His breakout came in 2021-22, when he averaged 20.2 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Even in what some viewed as a down year, he still posted 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game in the 2025-26 season.
The issue isn’t that Bridges should have commanded a haul built around multiple first-round picks. It’s that Charlotte’s front office didn’t seem to maximize the situation, especially if the goal was to stockpile assets that could help in the near future. Waiting until 2033 to use the biggest piece of the return doesn’t exactly fit a team that says it wants to move forward now.
Charlotte’s offseason approach has looked messy from the start. The moves haven’t lined up with one another, and the franchise’s stated rebuild has come with the strange choice to move younger talent along the way. If the Hornets needed more time to settle on a direction, trading both Bridges and LaMelo before that plan was clear was a risky way to go about it.
There was still a version of this where Charles Lee could have started building a new identity with Bridges still in the room. From the outside, Bridges doesn’t project the same kind of volatility that LaMelo does, and he could have given the Hornets something they badly lack right now: consistency.
Phoenix, for all its own flaws, at least got that part right. The Suns are not exactly a model organization, but Bridges has fit into a group that gives him something to work with. Even as Phoenix sits 12th in the Western Conference, Bridges has been delivering across the board.
He’s averaging 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and a career-high 1.4 steals per game. His defensive work has taken a noticeable step forward, and individually he has done plenty to justify what Phoenix gave up.
That’s why the Hornets’ start has drawn so much frustration. There’s plenty of season left, so panic may be premature.
Still, Charlotte’s offseason decisions have already raised real questions, and the Bridges trade sits at the center of them. If rebuilding was the mission, the Hornets needed a better return - one that made sense sooner, not years down the road.
In Other News...
Hornets Offense Just Took Another Hit They May Not Survive
The Hornets offense has already been trying to find its footing, and now the injury report has taken another hard turn. Charlotte announced that Kon Knueppel and Dennis Schroder have both been diagnosed with left hamstring strains, adding to a lineup that has been forced to absorb one setback after another. Brandon Miller is also set to miss an upcoming game with a right hip strain, leaving the team even thinner as it tries to keep its attack organized.
For a Hornets group that has leaned on young perimeter creation and veteran ball handling, the timing could hardly be worse. Knueppel is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks, while Schroder will be out at least two weeks before being re-evaluated, and those absences leave Charlotte with more questions than answers in the backcourt and on the wing. The next stretch will say a lot about how much margin this roster has left. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Are Sending Confusing Signals About Tidjane Salauns Future
The Hornets have spent the early part of this reshaped roster trying to balance development with a more veteran look, but Tidjane Salaun sits right at the center of the uncertainty. Charlotte still has reason to believe in the young forwards long-term upside, yet his playing time has been uneven and the organizations broader direction has become harder to read after the additions of Naz Reid and Grayson Allen in the wake of the LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges trades.
For a rebuilding team, the challenge is supposed to be straightforward: identify the young core, give it room to grow and let the veterans fill in the gaps. Charlotte has not exactly followed that script, and Salauns place in the plan is now part of the larger question. The Hornets keep signaling that they want development to matter, but their recent moves have left the impression that the path forward is still being sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Face A Bigger Concern Than Just Another Chance To Snap Skid
The Monday night matchup in Charlotte brings together two teams trying to stop the bleeding, with Cleveland opening a three-game road trip and the Hornets looking for a clean response in front of their home crowd. Both Kenny Atkinson and Charles Lee have acknowledged the frustration that comes with a skid, and for Charlotte, the conversation has gone beyond simply trying to get back in the win column.
Brandon Millers status is now part of that larger concern after he recently left a game with right groin soreness, and the Hornets are expected to have more clarity before tipoff. For a team already searching for traction, any uncertainty around one of its key perimeter pieces only adds to the pressure as it tries to steady itself against a Cavaliers team facing its own rough patch. [Read more 🡒]