Miles Bridges sat out the entire 2022-23 NBA season after pleading no contest to a domestic violence charge last summer when he was set to enter free agency.
Bridges was reinstated by the NBA this offseason, which gave him a 30-game suspension but counted 20 games of that as having already been served after he sat out last season, despite the horrific details of the assault by his partner Mychelle Johnson That meant wherever he ended up this offseason would be without him for the first 10 games of the upcoming season.
The Hornets extended the $7.9 million qualifying offer to keep him as a restricted free agent and as the first weekend of free agency progressed, Bridges was not able to gain any traction in long-term contract negotiations around the league. As such, on Sunday he chose to sign the qualifying offer to play out next season in Charlotte and then become an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
ESPN Sources: Charlotte Hornets restricted free agent F Miles Bridges is preparing to sign a $7.9 million qualifying offer for the 2023-2024 season, clearing the way for him to become unrestricted next summer. Hornets and Bridges are far apart in extension talks. Story soon. pic.twitter.com/1uf2uh3uxQ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2023
Bridges was the Hornets second-best player in the 2021-22 season, averaging 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game alongside LaMelo Ball, and without him last year Charlotte struggled to replace that production. However, Bridges will have to answer a lot of questions from teams about changes he’s making off the court if he is going to get a contract in line with the productivity he’s shown on it, as his play is a secondary concern when teams are looking to make a long-term investment in him as a part of their franchise.
