Miles Bridges is taking a different path than most players in his spot.
According to ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, the new Phoenix Suns forward is expected to hold off on signing an extension for now, even though he’s already eligible. Windhorst said, "Miles Bridges did not extend his contract, and my understanding is he's probably going to wait and try to extend it later.
You may see him come in and really have a sizable role. I think they have not only an intent to pay him, but they have an intent to really give him a big role."
That leaves Phoenix with one more item still unresolved after a busy offseason. The Suns have already brought back their pending free agents, made trades to strengthen their interior presence and extended Dillon Brooks. But Bridges, acquired from the Charlotte Hornets, remains the big unfinished piece.
Phoenix paid a steep price to land him, sending an unprotected first-round pick along with players such as Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale. With that kind of investment, the Suns can’t exactly afford to treat Bridges like a short-term stopgap.
He’s on the final year of the three-year, $75 million deal he originally signed with Charlotte, and his contract runs through the end of the 2026-27 season. The expectation is that Phoenix wants to keep him long term. The question is when that happens.
The fit in Phoenix is still being sorted out. Bridges enters a roster that already includes Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams, and he’s expected to play a major role in the desert.
Offensively, he brings more scoring punch than O'Neale did at the power forward spot. Still, he’ll need to deliver more on defense and the glass if he’s going to fully match what head coach Jordan Ott is asking for.
For Bridges, waiting has its own logic. Most players prefer to lock in an extension before the season starts, avoiding the uncertainty of playing on a deal that could be affected by performance or injury.
This time, though, he appears ready to let the season unfold first. And in situations like this, delaying the paperwork usually shifts the leverage one way or the other when the real negotiations finally begin.
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