Key Points
- Charlotte traded Miles Bridges to Phoenix for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and a 2033 first.
- The Hornets also sent a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick to the Suns.
- It is Charlotte's second major trade in three days after dealing LaMelo Ball to Minnesota.
- Bridges averaged 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds last season; the move saved Charlotte about $20M in luxury tax.
The Charlotte Hornets are tearing it down to the studs. On June 28, the team traded forward Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns, sending Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick west for guard Grayson Allen, forward Royce O'Neale, and an unprotected 2033 first-round pick. It is the second time in three days Charlotte has moved one of its best players.
The terms
Suns receive: Miles Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick.
Hornets receive: Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick.
Bridges has spent his entire NBA career in Charlotte since arriving in a 2018 draft-night deal, and across those seasons the Hornets never reached the playoffs. He averaged 17.1 points and 5.8 rebounds last season on reduced usage and had one year left on his contract before unrestricted free agency in 2027. Moving him trimmed roughly $20 million from Charlotte's luxury-tax bill while bringing back two rotation veterans: Allen, a career 40% three-point shooter, and O'Neale, a 38% shooter and switchable wing defender.
Why it matters
The read: this is a full Charlotte reset, not a single trade. In 72 hours the Hornets have converted their two most valuable players into draft capital and cap relief, first sending All-Star LaMelo Ball to Minnesota for Naz Reid and a stack of late-decade picks, now flipping Bridges for shooting, depth, and a 2033 first. A franchise that has not made the postseason in Bridges' entire tenure has decided the picks it can accumulate after 2030 are worth more than the roster it already had — the clearest tank-and-rebuild signal in a busy offseason that opened with Washington taking AJ Dybantsa No. 1 and ran through Giannis Antetokounmpo's move to Miami. For Phoenix, Bridges is a downhill scorer and rebounder who fills a need, and the deal sheds Allen's and O'Neale's veteran salaries while adding an athletic wing in his prime. For Charlotte, he is one more present-day asset traded for a future it is betting heavily on, clearing frontcourt minutes for the younger players and the Naz Reid acquisition the Hornets just brought back in the Ball deal.
Bridges joins a Suns wing rotation Phoenix has kept investing in — Dillon Brooks agreed to a three-year, $73 million extension through 2029-30.
Source: ESPN, Yahoo Sports, and Sports Illustrated.
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