The Phoenix Suns’ trade for Miles Bridges still isn’t official, but one insider says there’s no reason to panic.
Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported that the Suns are waiting on a separate multi-team deal involving Charlotte, Brooklyn and Minnesota to clear before Phoenix can finalize its own move. On X, he said the Bridges trade and the Luke Kennard signing are “expected to be completed early next week,” while the earlier transaction “should be done this weekend.”
“The Miles Bridges trade and Luke Kennard signing are expected to be completed early next week. The initial trade with Charlotte, Minnesota and Brooklyn should be done this weekend. Phoenix can’t complete their transaction until that trade is completed,” he wrote on X.
“There is no risk of it falling apart, just timing.”
That should calm down a situation that had already stirred plenty of reaction in Phoenix. The deal, first agreed to over a week ago, would send Bridges to the Suns in exchange for Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, along with draft picks.
Phoenix has clearly been chasing more interior scoring this offseason. The team traded up for Koa Peat in the first round of the NBA Draft and then went after Bridges, whose game offers a different kind of punch than O’Neale’s perimeter shooting.
That need showed up in the numbers last season. The Suns were a top-five team in three-point shooting, but they finished 14th in paint points per game.
Bridges should help in that area, though he comes with baggage and limitations. He remains one of the league’s more polarizing names because of prior domestic violence issues, which triggered a wave of reaction when the trade was first reported.
On the floor, he is a bit bigger than O’Neale, but he does not fully address Phoenix’s size concerns. He is also not considered a strong outside shooter.
Even so, head coach Jordan Ott, general manager Brian Gregory and owner Mat Ishbia appear to believe the fit has value, especially with a projected starting group that includes Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams.
As Brendan Mau wrote about Bridges’ fit with Phoenix, “It remains to be seen if Bridges' addition makes the Suns better than a play-in team with their style of play now changing a bit, and their growth from last season looks to still be dependent on if they can have better injury luck,” wrote on our own Brendan Mau on Bridges' fit with Phoenix.
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