Hornets forward Miles Bridges will jump right into the rotation when his suspension is lifted on Friday, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News reports (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports).
That may come as a surprise to some, in light of Bridges’ most recent domestic violence allegations.
Bridges was suspended for the first 10 games of this season. That concluded an NBA investigation into the original domestic violence incident that forced him to miss all of last season while his legal case played out. He signed a one-year, $7.92MM qualifying offer as a restricted free agent in July.
“I think he’ll be ready to play. He’s in practice every day,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “So, he’s been well organized when he’s there. He’s in really good shape. He’s worked hard. I’ll be honest, we’ve been playing every other day… But he will have a significant role right away.”
Bridges will be eligible to play against Milwaukee on Friday.
His latest off-the-court incident occurred on Oct. 6 during a custody exchange at Bridges’ residence in Charlotte. The 25-year-old allegedly threw billiard balls at his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle while their two children were inside it, which smashed the windshield and dented her car. A criminal summons issued for Bridges also stated that he threatened his former girlfriend.
The CBA requires the NBA to let the legal process to play out. The team could have taken action, but that hasn’t happened. As Clifford said, Bridges has been attending practices regularly during his suspension.
Bridges is scheduled to appear in court on Monday to answer a summons tied to a violation of a protective order from January, which is separate from the October incident.
I do not understand how his suspension wasn’t extended to more games after the pool balls incident.
There is no justice in a capitalist system…
This Miles Bridges fool is a perfect example of how money can allow you to get away with a lot of illegal things…
Any average citizen would be rotting in a jail cell…
Kai Jones paid for your sins
Should be waived. The Hornets don’t want to improve. I could fix this team easily
Insane that they are welcoming this piece of **** back. All they’re going to do is alienate fans (and worsen their draft position).
Pretty embarassing for the NBA that they signed off on a CBA that protects players in situations like this. I firmly believe in innocent until proven guilty when we are talking about prison. But the NBA failing to incorporate a restrictred list like MLB has is just negligence, under these rules Wander Franco would have kept playing for the Rays
Kai Jones was waived and not this guy. Anybody see a problem here
I can understand that the NBA has a collective agreement with the players that limits their ability to unilaterally punish a player for off-the-court behavior. I think the penalties should be stiffer too, but that’s how these things work.
What I can’t understand is why the Hornets would sign and play such a player. They were fully empowered to tell him to find employment elsewhere. What does it say about the character of the organization to have someone like this represent them? If they are really bad and losing games, do they need this on top?
I hope there’s a lot of pushback in the community about this guy. The Hornets should be ashamed of themselves.
It’s not really alleged. There were victims in the car who saw him as he did it. The police showed it. I know technically he isn’t found guilty yet but he did the act.
“Allegedly” is only really used as a defense to stop the party that committed the alleged act from being able to sue. Everyone and their mother knows Miles Bridges is a PoS. Even the people defending him.
Bridges, Porter jr and Primo should be out of the league for another year at least
Ugly look for new management with the Hornets and the league
I hope their fan base makes them pay for it…
I had no idea exchanging your kids could put your life in mortal danger. They need to get a 3rd party involved and keep these 2 far away from one another. It looks like it’s war now. If he wants his career, stay away from her.
He needs to be in jail. Then it’s not as big an issue.
This is just gross on many levels…
The Hornets deserve to be the team they have always been… no future no hope…
They make the Knicks look functional atm…