The Phoenix Suns didn’t even get through one game with Miles Bridges before the contract questions came roaring back.
After opening the 2026 offseason by bringing back their own free agents, Phoenix doubled down with a major swing, sending out an unprotected first-round pick along with Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale to land Bridges from the Charlotte Hornets. That move already drew plenty of heat. Then the season opener happened, and the noise only got louder.
Phoenix got thumped 41 points by Ja Morant and the Portland Trail Blazers, a result that made the Bridges trade look even shakier. Morant had 14 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals as Portland rolled.
The Blazers had already acquired the former All-Star without giving up any draft picks, a detail that only sharpened the optics around Phoenix’s bet on Bridges. The Suns, who were in need of point guard depth, may have had a different path available.
Instead, they committed to Bridges as the player who could lift the roster’s ceiling.
That’s where the real problem starts. Bridges is in a contract year, and if he’s still in Phoenix beyond 2026-27, the Suns will need to extend him. That possibility now sits right in the middle of everything they did to acquire him.
Phoenix has already been busy handing out new deals in 2026, with Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams, Jordan Goodwin, and most recently Oso Ighodaro all signing extensions. But Bridges is a different kind of decision. If the Suns did give up another unprotected first-round pick in 2033, along with the role players in the deal, they’ve practically boxed themselves into keeping him.
The situation with Bridges is not the same as it was with Williams. Williams was younger, not even 25 until December.
Bridges will be 29 next summer when his contract is due. And Phoenix’s roster already leans heavily on aging veterans Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks, which only adds to the awkward fit in a league moving toward younger stars.
There’s also the matter of playing time and production. Williams had already logged a season in Phoenix before being extended, and there was at least a case for moving on from him despite the team’s decision to keep him as a restricted free agent. He led the Suns in rebounding a season ago and ranked second on the team in win shares behind only D-Book, all while playing 60 games, which was a career high.
Bridges, by contrast, is just getting started in Phoenix, and his first showing was rough.
In 29 minutes against Portland, he scored eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and missed all five of his 3-pointers. He added four rebounds, with two of them coming in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, and finished at -35 in box plus/minus. That’s nowhere near the level Phoenix needs from a player it paid so dearly to acquire.
One bad game doesn’t define a season, and Bridges has put up at least 20 points per game in three of his last four seasons. He was also among the league’s top 25 rebounders as recently as 2024-25. But if that level doesn’t show up in Phoenix, the Suns may have to think hard about putting the money they’ve reserved for an extension somewhere else, no matter what they gave up to get him.
For now, the Suns are in a bad spot, and it’s only October. The people calling this trade a lateral move are already looking awfully sharp.
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Suns Fans Already Have A Brutal New Reason To Hate This Trade
The Suns first night of the season did not offer much comfort after the front office sent out an unprotected first-round pick in the deal that brought in Miles Bridges. Phoenix got blown out by Portland, and Bridges debut only added to the unease. He finished with eight points on rough shooting, the kind of opener that immediately puts a spotlight on both the player and the price tag attached to him.
For a team already under pressure to justify its roster construction, the early returns are hard to ignore. The Suns were hoping the move would help stabilize the rotation and add a piece that could fit quickly, but instead it left fans looking at the long-term cost and the short-term output at the same time. When a win-now swing starts with a lopsided loss and an unconvincing debut, the questions around what Phoenix gave up tend to get louder fast. [Read more 🡒]
Devin Booker Already Faces A Suns Problem Fans Know Too Well
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What made the start feel so uneasy was not just the slow opening, but the broader question it revived about the Suns' current build. Phoenix has spent recent eras trying to pair Booker with another true difference-maker, and the concern now is whether this version of the roster has enough reliable support to keep teams from loading up on him. The opener did little to ease that worry, and it leaves the Suns with a problem they know all too well even before the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Suns May Have A Ceiling Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Devin Bookers recent struggles have only sharpened the bigger question hanging over Phoenix: how much more upside is actually left on this roster? The Suns have pieces that can still help them win right now, but the overall picture feels crowded by familiar roles and uncertain development, with players like Dillon Brooks, Collin Gillespie and Miles Bridges not offering much in the way of obvious growth.
Ryan Dunn and Rasheer Fleming add to that concern because their offensive progress has been limited so far, which leaves the conversation drifting toward the few players who still look capable of a meaningful leap. Jalen Green and Khaman Maluach stand out as the likeliest candidates to improve in a noticeable way, but even that only goes so far if Phoenix is trying to raise its ceiling rather than simply stay afloat. [Read more 🡒]