Miles Bridges drawing trade interest from Western Conference contender

The Phoenix Suns are starting to hit their stride closer to the business end of the season. It appears GM James Jones has a few more moves up his sleeve to shore up the roster.

According to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic, the Suns have set their sights on Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges – one of 10 players that that franchise is targeting ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.  

As much as the Suns would benefit by adding Bridges, who’s averaging a career-high 20.8 points per game, there are plenty of hurdles that could preclude them from doing so. 

For starters, Bridges – an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season – has a no-trade clause because he stands to lose his Bird Rights if traded. According to Rankin, Bridges is seeking a "lucrative long-term deal" after this season, something the Suns simply can’t afford due to their tax situation. The Suns -- $21.5M over the luxury tax this season -- have three max-level players on their payroll and are above the second apron. If the Suns could acquire Bridges with his Bird Rights, they’d have the option -- a very expensive one -- to pay the Michigan State product what he desires. 

As such, if the Suns do take the gamble on Bridges, he’d essentially be a one-year rental. 

Another challenge, per Rankin, is that the Hornets are reportedly seeking multiple draft picks for any deal. The Suns’ draft chest is pretty bare but they do have the option of using pick swaps.

There’s also the question of optics. The Suns might receive severe backlash for acquiring the controversial Bridges, who has a pending court date for next month for a domestic violence incident from 2022, for which he already served a 30-game suspension.

Bridges, 25, is owed $7.9M in the last year of his rookie scale contract. The Suns could use the likes of Grayson Allen ($8.9M) or a combination of Nassir Little ($6.25M) and Josh Okogie ($2.8M) to pull off a trade for Bridges. Damion Lee and Keita Bates-Diop are other players on veteran-minimum deals that can be packaged to make the salaries work.