The Charlotte Hornets appear to be open for business ahead of the February 8th NBA trade deadline. They sent Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat last Tuesday for Kyle Lowry's expiring contract and a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick, but they may not be done yet. do not have.
“We can't ignore the fact that we're a team that's trying to build something that will sustain us in the future, and we're looking for opportunities,” Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak told reporters after Rozier's trade. I'm going to go,” he said. “And if there's something out there, we'll try to do it. It's that simple.”
Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer reported Friday that the Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns are interested in trading Hornets forwards Miles Bridges and Duane Rankin. arizona republic He acknowledged the Suns' interest. Action Network's Matt Moore also added the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks to the mix.
Bridges will play the first 10 games of the 2023-24 season while serving the remainder of a 30-game suspension handed down by the NBA last April “as a result of a domestic violence incident involving the mother of his children.” I was absent. He turned himself in to police in October after police issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of violating a protection order. Mr. Bridges is scheduled to appear in court on February 20th on this charge.
That alone should give teams considering whether to acquire Bridges before the trade deadline. But that's not the only thing teams need to consider. There are also financial hurdles that could make it even more difficult to acquire Bridges before the trade deadline.
Bridges signed a $7.9 million qualifying offer with the Hornets in July, so he has veto power over any trades this season. That's because if the Hornets trade him, Bird's rights aren't attached, meaning he'll be a non-Bird free agent this summer.
Bird Rights allow over-the-cap teams to re-sign their own free agents and re-sign them at up to the maximum salary. However, with the exception of bird rights, teams that exceed the cap can only offer players more than 120% of their previous salary. Free agents' contracts other than Bird are for up to four years and include a 5% raise each year, while Bird's fully entitled player contract is for him to be five years long and includes an 8% raise annually.
Let's use the Suns as an example of why that matters, especially since the Suns are reportedly “very confident” in their ability to land bridges, according to Gerard Bourguet of PHNX Sports. Sho. (Mr. Bourguet also considered that potential impact.)
The Suns, who acquired Kevin Durant at last year's trade deadline and acquired Bradley Beal this offseason, currently have the league's third-highest salary at $186.8 million, according to Salary Swish. ing. That's about $4 million above this year's new second salary cap apron, and is already expected to be $5.2 million above next season, severely limiting team-building flexibility going forward.
Barring a number of trade restrictions, teams on the second apron and above will no longer be able to take advantage of mid-level exceptions in free agency. That means that other than their own draft picks and free agents, they can only be given minimum-salary contracts. While the Suns have performed well in those situations this year, signing the likes of Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop during the opening hours of free agency, there's no guarantee they'll have that kind of success each offseason.
For Bridges, the amount the Suns can offer him in free agency this summer will be limited once he crosses the second apron. Since he would forfeit Bird's rights in the event of a trade and would only become a non-Bird free agent, the Suns could offer him a contract worth up to four years and $41.4 million for less than $9.5 million.
He will likely sign a two-year, $19.5 million contract with a second-year player option to remain with the Suns. That's not much lower than what the non-taxpayer mid-level exception would expect ($12.95 million), and as long as Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant are all on the team, he's legitimate. He will be a great champion candidate. .
But then again, all it takes is one team to throw Bridges a big offer and he could be gone.
The out-of-court allegations and ongoing legal issues surrounding Bridges will likely cool Bridges' free agent market. He's averaging a career-high 20.8 points, shooting 45.9 percent, 7.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Hornets this year, but the PR impact of signing him means the front office won't have as much money to spend. may be restricted. It's unclear if he'll even get close to the nine-figure deal that once seemed like the key a few years ago.
This could factor into the team's thinking as they consider a potential trade for Bridges. If they don't think they have a realistic chance of re-signing him with rights other than Bird, then a half-season rental is likely, and they may not be willing to give up much.
Some teams may not care. If they are committed to winning a title this season, they may be willing to sign Bridges now and deal with the consequences later. Based on recent reports, the Suns appear to be right in that camp.
But if the Suns or another team on the second apron acquires Bridges, they could be outbid in free agency this summer and realistically can't do anything about it.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are NBA.com, PBP statistics, cleaning the glass or basketball reference. All salary information can be found at spot rack or Real GM.All odds are as follows FanDuel Sportsbook.
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