Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges was set to cash in this summer on a lucrative multi-year deal. The 12 No. overall pick from the 2018 NBA Draft was entering restricted free agency and there was a chance that he was going to sign a max contract.
Bridges picked an excellent time to have the best season of his career as he put up career stats across the board, averaging 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks in 35.5 minutes per game. He bet on himself when he turned down a four-year deal worth about $60 million last offseason and won that bet.
Unfortunately, Bridges may have thrown all of that away. He was arrested recently for domestic violence, which has put a pause on his free agency. No team is going to pursue him until the evidence is sorted out, leaving him at an impasse.
When the arrest was announced, there was some chatter that the Hornets could pull the qualifying offer from him and look elsewhere to replace him on the roster. That has not yet happened and it doesn’t sound like that is something they are going to actually go through with.
“The only thing I’ll say about the qualifying offer… I know it hasn’t happened yet. I have that on solid grounds. And everyone I’ve talked to around the league, no one expects them to pull it either.”
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges Will Have To Test Free Agency For Max Offer
Pulling the qualifying offer should shift Bridges from being a restricted free agent into being an unrestricted one. That means the Hornets would no longer have the ability to match any offer sheet that he signed with another team.
Even if the Hornets did take that route, Bridges would likely have to wait a long time for a team to come calling. No team wants to deal with the negative PR and backlash from signing a player with suspicions of domestic violence.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges Will Have To Test Free Agency For Max Offer
Until the legal situation plays out, odds are Bridges will remain a restricted free agent. Teams will want to make sure he is cleared of any wrongdoing by the law and even after that, he could face discipline from the league as well.
