Miles Bridges has been away from the Hornets since he was arrested on domestic violence charges in July, but Charlotte retained the rights of the restricted free agent. Because of his legal situation — he pled no contest to reduced charges and faces a lengthy suspension from the league — no other team has stepped in with an offer.
Now the Hornets and Bridges are talking about a contract extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.The Charlotte Hornets and restricted free agent forward Miles Bridges are gathering traction in talks on a new deal, and optimism exists that an agreement could come in the near future, sources told ESPN on Friday.
The sooner Bridges and the Hornets can reach a deal, the sooner he can seemingly start serving an NBA suspension expected to be handed down for his role in an offseason domestic violence case.
We cannot and should not just gloss over those charges so he can start serving his suspension — this was a serious crime. Mychelle Johnson, the mother of Bridges’ children, detailed her case in a July 1 Instagram post where she said, “I can’t be silent anymore. I’ve allowed someone to destroy my home, abuse me in every way possible and traumatize our kids for life.” The post contained detailed medical reports of multiple injuries and a video of their son recounting an incident where “daddy choked mommy.” The Los Angeles District Attorney filed the charges in the wake of all this.
Before the incident, Bridges was in line for a contract extension this summer, having averaged 20.2 points per game last season. The Hornets have struggled this season, going 8-24 so far, partly because they couldn’t replace Bridges, and partly because LaMelo Ball has missed time due to injury.