Anshari Taslim
The Charlotte Hornets continued their aggressive offseason restructuring on Sunday, executing a significant trade that sent forward Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns. This move comes mere days after the Hornets initiated a franchise-altering deal, trading star guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The latest transaction sees Charlotte further accumulate future draft capital, while Phoenix acquires Bridges at a steep price, prompting scrutiny over their long-term strategy.
The trade details, as reported, involved the Phoenix Suns sending their unprotected 2033 first-round pick and a low-end 2029 protected first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Miles Bridges. This exchange immediately sparked debate across the league, particularly concerning the value assigned to future draft assets versus immediate roster additions.
Phoenix Suns: Grade D
The Suns’ decision to part with a deeply future first-round pick in 2033 has been met with considerable skepticism. This move follows a pattern of trading away valuable draft capital, a strategy that has yet to yield significant dividends for the franchise. At the 2025 trade deadline, Phoenix notably traded its unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Utah Jazz. The rationale at the time was to break down a single high-value asset into multiple lesser first-round picks, theoretically providing greater flexibility for several smaller roster improvements.
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However, the subsequent utilization of those picks has done little to elevate the Suns’ competitive standing. One of the acquired picks was used to offload Jusuf Nurkić’s substantial salary to the Hornets. Nurkić, who had averaged 10.9 points and 11.0 rebounds in 2024-25 but struggled with consistency and defensive matchups in critical moments, represented a financial burden Phoenix aimed to shed. Another pick facilitated the acquisition of center Mark Williams, also from Charlotte. While Williams recently re-signed with Phoenix, his role has become increasingly ambiguous with the ascension of promising big man Oso Ighodaro and the development of No. 10 overall pick Khaman Maluach. Neither acquisition has unequivocally established itself as a cornerstone piece, raising questions about the efficiency of Phoenix’s asset management.
Jazz general manager Justin Zanik’s comments at the time of the 2025 trade now appear prescient. "The way it makes sense for us is that we now have another shot at a pick that has a lot of variability. The three picks we traded have no chance to be the No. 1 pick, and this one does," Zanik stated. "It balances out what we want, but we’ve always talked about bites at the apple or more swings in the draft, but it also is about the quality of the swings, and this is, in my opinion, the most valuable asset on the market right now." A year later, Zanik’s assessment was validated when that 2031 Suns pick served as the cornerstone in a trade that brought All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr., a former Defensive Player of the Year, to the Jazz, instantly transforming their competitive outlook. Jackson Jr. had continued to be a dominant two-way force, averaging 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in the season preceding his move.
The value of unprotected first-round picks in the 2030s cannot be overstated, especially as the current lottery reforms are set to expire after 2029, leaving the future rules for draft positioning uncertain. These picks represent a highly coveted commodity across the NBA, a potential lifeline for franchises facing future declines. Recent examples underscore this point: the Miami Heat acquired two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo by leveraging similar deep-future draft capital, while the Minnesota Timberwolves utilized such assets to land LaMelo Ball, a dynamic and highly talented guard. These represent the established benchmarks for trading picks of such profound long-term potential.
In exchange, the Suns have acquired Miles Bridges. Despite possessing impressive athletic tools and flashes of offensive brilliance, Bridges has consistently struggled to translate his potential into sustained high-level performance, particularly on the defensive end. His career three-point shooting percentage has hovered around league average, exceeding it only once, and his positional rebounding is unspectacular for a player of his build. A significant concern for Phoenix is Bridges’ efficiency when not paired with an elite playmaker. Data from Databallr indicates a notable drop in his true shooting percentage over the past two seasons, falling from 60.8% with LaMelo Ball on the court to 51.1% without him. Given the Suns’ current point guard situation, which lacks a playmaker of Ball’s caliber, replicating Bridges’ most efficient production could prove challenging.
Beyond on-court concerns, the trade also carries financial implications for Phoenix. The deal reportedly shaves approximately $30 million off their luxury tax penalty by reducing team salary by about $6.2 million. While this offers some relief, the Suns still project to be roughly $10.3 million above the luxury tax line. There had been speculation that Phoenix might attempt to duck the tax entirely this season to reset their repeater tax clock, a crucial maneuver for long-term financial health. The current trade, however, indicates they have a considerable distance to cover to achieve that goal. The 2029 protected pick acquired from the Hornets offers minimal trade value, unlikely to significantly aid either salary shedding or meaningful roster improvement.
The competitive landscape of the Western Conference further complicates Phoenix’s position. The Suns experienced firsthand in the recent first round their inability to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder, a youthful juggernaut built on draft capital and emergent talent. Similarly, the San Antonio Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama leading a promising young core, represent an increasingly unreachable standard. While the Denver Nuggets maintain championship contention, and teams like the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers are actively improving, the Suns appear to be treading water. Reports even suggest the Portland Trail Blazers could be pursuing a star like Jaylen Brown, while the Jazz have demonstrably improved with the addition of Jackson Jr.
Realistically, the Suns remain a Play-In Tournament caliber team after this trade, having sacrificed a crucial long-term asset for marginal immediate gains. The profound consequence of this strategy is the continued deferral of a proper rebuild. The Suns famously control only one of their own first-round picks moving forward, that being in 2032. This pick is frozen due to the team exceeding the second apron in the 2024-25 season, a penalty under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. By the 2032-33 season, star guard Devin Booker will be 37 years old. Without a pipeline of draft picks to replenish the roster, Phoenix’s future outlook appears increasingly bleak, trapped in a cycle of short-term fixes with diminishing returns.
The Suns concluded their previous season on a "feel-good" note, buoyed by defensive effort and renewed intensity, a stark contrast to the internal turmoil and effective implosion of the 2024-25 campaign that saw Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal depart. However, with the new lottery reforms making "tanking" less rewarding, relying on sheer effort for regular-season wins will become increasingly challenging. This deal does little to raise their playoff ceiling against formidable opponents like the Thunder, who decisively eliminated them. The reward for Phoenix is minimal, while the long-term risk to the franchise’s viability is monumental.
Charlotte Hornets: Grade A
For the Charlotte Hornets, this trade represents another significant step in a wholesale franchise reorientation, following the pivotal LaMelo Ball trade. That initial decision was rooted in a strategic pivot away from perceived ceiling limitations and the potential for financially burdensome long-term contracts. Miles Bridges, being on an expiring deal, presented a similar dilemma: either re-sign him to a potentially regrettable contract or risk losing him for nothing. The Hornets chose the latter, shrewdly converting an expiring asset into one of the highest-ceiling draft picks available on the trade market.
The Hornets have now cemented their position as one of the most asset-rich teams in the entire NBA. They now possess two of the coveted, ultra-valuable unprotected picks in the 2030s—this one from Phoenix and another acquired from Minnesota in the LaMelo Ball trade. These are complemented by two intriguing picks in the nearer future: a top-2 protected 2027 choice from the Dallas Mavericks, and a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick from the Miami Heat that converts to unprotected in 2028. This portfolio effectively "shorts" four different franchises, betting that at least one or two will inevitably falter, providing Charlotte with potentially high-value selections. This strategy significantly enhances their long-term prospects.
Furthermore, the Hornets have recently added promising talent through the draft, with Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson joining the roster. These young prospects, alongside existing franchise cornerstones Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, contribute to a roster brimming with long-term upside. Miller, who showcased significant strides in his sophomore season, averaged 18.2 points and 5.1 rebounds, establishing himself as a legitimate two-way threat. Knueppel, a recent high draft pick, offers additional perimeter scoring and defensive versatility.
The departure of Bridges also poses no immediate detriment to Charlotte’s power forward position. Naz Reid, acquired in the Ball trade, is the presumed starter at the four. Reid, who averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds last season for the Timberwolves, offers a more versatile offensive game and a less playmaking-dependent skillset than Bridges. His value is not as explicitly tied to a single teammate, offering greater stability. With the arrival of Steinbach, who also projects as a forward, the Hornets likely would have struggled to find consistent minutes for Bridges, making his trade even more logical from a roster management perspective.
Crucially, the Hornets are poised to continue leveraging the substantial financial flexibility gained from the Ball trade. With approximately $50 million in room below the luxury tax line, Charlotte is well-positioned to absorb undesirable contracts from other teams in exchange for additional draft capital, further enriching their asset base. This strategy allows the "rich to get richer" in terms of future draft control.
While the long-term wisdom of moving on from LaMelo Ball will only be fully judged over time, once that foundational decision was made, the trade of Miles Bridges was an unequivocal "no-brainer." This transaction is a genuine home run for the Hornets, positioning them with a wealth of future assets rarely seen in the modern NBA. Even if the Suns do not experience a complete collapse before 2033, the perception of that pick’s potential value is a powerful currency. Charlotte now holds a highly coveted asset that can be capitalized upon in trades for the next seven years, a pick that has the potential to be even more valuable than the 2031 selection that Justin Zanik so highly prized.
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