Miles Bridges Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Suggs, Bridges, I. Smith, Hawks

November 14th, 2021 at 9:15am CST by Arthur Hill

Jalen Suggs has looked more like a rookie than some of the other lottery picks in this year’s draft, but the Magic are willing to be patient with him, writes Austin David of The Orlando Sentinel. The No. 5 overall pick is struggling in his first month in the NBA, shooting just 31.2% from the field and 20.3% from three-point range while averaging 3.5 turnovers per game to go with his 3.5 assists.

But Suggs has held onto his starting job, and a rebuilding Orlando team is planning to give him the time he needs to learn how to be an NBA point guard. Head coach Jamahl Mosley is a strong believer in Suggs and says he’s constantly working to get better.

“The thing that I continue to tell everyone is that the way he’s seeing it and communicating it through film sessions, with our coaches, with myself on the sideline, he’s seeing it very well,” Mosley said. “Now it’s just a matter of putting the physical side of it to it, and understanding when to slow down, when to speed up, the right reads, when it takes shots. He’s getting better at it slowly but surely. So as he can continue to communicate it, the better he’ll be as he sees it on the physical side of it.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Miles Bridges is in his fourth season with the Hornets, but he still gets butterflies when playing in front of team owner Michael Jordan, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Jordan attended Friday’s game and Bridges was aware of his presence. “The greatest basketball player of all time on the bench supporting you, it definitely gives you nerves,” Bridges said. “I came out and missed a few layups, missed three few free throws. But as soon as we started settling in and started playing our game, I feel like that’s when it took a turn. That’s when we started going on our runs. But it’s great to have him out there.”
Ish Smith, who signed with the Hornets in the offseason, played a little more than a minute Friday after sitting out the last two games of the club’s road trip, Boone adds. Coach James Borrego said the decisions have been based more on matchups than Smith’s performance, as he wanted to give Terry Rozier more time at point guard.
Hawks coach Nate McMillan may start using John Collins more frequently as a center with his second unit, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McMillan said Collins and Danilo Gallinari are an effective pairing against smaller lineups.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Hawks, Ball, Bridges

November 8th, 2021 at 8:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bradley Beal rumors never go away, but the All-Star guard is quite content with the changes the Wizards have made, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The team’s improved depth has eased the burden off him and he’s become more of a contributor at the defensive end.

“It feels great not having to make every play and do everything,” the Wizards star said. “I can really focus on a lot of other things in the game, especially my defense. But more or less, it’s an amazing feeling knowing that you have vets when it’s time to close out a game and win a game. They’re prepared. They know what to do, and we’re all camaraderie-wise ready to go.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

With ramped up expectations, the Hawks are struggling to strike a balance between developing their young players and winning, Seerat Sohi of The Ringer writes. Atlanta is off to a 4-6 start. “Last season we came in and we were still developing,” coach Nate McMillan said. “Developing your game at a time like this, that’s difficult for a player and for a team. You have to do that within the framework of playing the game together and that’s the only way it’s going to happen.”
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball says he needs to play more fourth-quarter minutes, Ben Golliver of the Washington Post tweets. “I feel like I’ve got to be in there longer for the fourth quarter, you feel me? I feel like I came in a little late in the game,” he said. Ball’s comments came after a 14-point loss to the Clippers in which Los Angeles scored 22 unanswered points to gain a 13-point advantage.
Miles Bridges is averaging 22.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 3.4 APG after turning down a rookie scale extension from the Hornets. The fourth-year forward was reportedly was offered a baseline four-year, $60MM contract and now could get much more in restricted free agency, Marc Spears of The Undefeated writes. Bridges says he’s put that out of his mind. “I’m not worried about the money,” he said. “I’m really just worried about playing the right way and winning. I will let my agent worry about all that stuff and just worry about the game.”

Southeast Notes: Washington, Bridges, Lowry, Martin, Okpala

November 7th, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hornets big man P.J. Washington is missing at least this weekend of game action as he deals with a hyperextended left elbow, writes Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. In his third NBA season, Washington is averaging 9.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.4 APG.

“He’s in good spirits,” Charlotte head coach James Borrego said Friday. “We’ll know more in the next two days. He’ll get further evaluated by a specialist in the next day or two, probably on Monday and we’ll know more at that time. We’re not going to jump to conclusions yet. We’ll see what comes out of that and make a plan from there.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hornets forward Miles Bridges has developed into one of the better scorers in the NBA during his fourth season, impressing his MSU coach Tom Izzo in the process, per Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. Bridges is putting up career-high averages of 22.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.7 SPG and 0.9 BPG so far. “He couldn’t jump until he got to Michigan State,” Izzo said. “So I coached the s— out of him.”
New Heat point guard Kyle Lowry has been a big part of Miami’s early-season success, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He wants the best available shot every possession,” center Bam Adebayo said of his new teammate. “That’s what I really like about Kyle. He’s one of those guys, he wants every play to be right, make or miss.” Lowry, 35, has taken a step back as a scorer for his new team, averaging 11.3 PPG, his lowest output since his 2009/10 season with the Rockets. At 7-2, the Heat are currently the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Emerging Heat small forward Caleb Martin may be outplaying his current two-way contract, and appears to be fulfilling the perimeter defender position Miami may have earmarked for third-year forward KZ Okpala, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Given that Martin can only play for 50 games with Miami on his two-way deal before it must be converted to a standard contract (and has played meaningful minutes across six contests so far), Winderman wonders if the Heat will start feeling the roster crunch soon.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Riley, Butler

October 31st, 2021 at 2:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 3-3 Hawks have yet to recapture the momentum that propelled them to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, writes Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. With an intimidating schedule coming up in which Atlanta will play several 2021 playoff teams, Kirschner offers his thoughts on how the club can adjust.

While forwards Cam Reddish and John Collins have exhibited plenty of growth, other key Hawks players have struggled a bit. Point guard Trae Young is struggling to adjust to the league’s new free throw rules, while shooting guard Kevin Huerter is struggling to connect from deep.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Hornets have already enjoyed a promising start to the 2021/22 season, writes Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. New additions Ish Smith and Kelly Oubre have fit in well thus far, with Oubre connecting on a solid 35.7% of his three-point looks. 2022 restricted free agent forward Miles Bridges has taken his scoring to borderline All-Star heights, and Boone is pegging his future contract in the $100MM vicinity. When it comes to perimeter depth, Boone observes that Cody Martin, Jalen McDaniels, and Nick Richards are also improving.
The hot start of the Heat has Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wondering if team president Pat Riley has finally nailed the club’s supporting lineup around All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The club has wholly recalibrated its frontcourt depth around Adebayo, and the early results have paid dividends thus far. The addition of former Raptors All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry has made a huge defensive impact on Miami, though his offense is struggling so far. Sixth man Tyler Herro also appears to have taken a leap in his third season.
Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler has thrived alongside new addition Kyle Lowry. Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald wonders if Butler has been newly maximized as a player alongside the former six-time All-Star point guard.

Hornets’ Bridges Increasing Value After Not Signing Extension

October 29th, 2021 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

After earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors based on his performance through the Hornets‘ three games, Miles Bridges hasn’t fallen off at all during his last two contests. The fourth-year forward is averaging 26.2 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 1.8 SPG with a shooting line of .527/.395/.909 through five games (35.2 MPG).

While it’s very early and Bridges almost certainly won’t maintain that pace, he was nearly a 50/40/90 shooter last season and seems capable of handling an increase in usage without his efficiency taking a major hit. As Zach Lowe of ESPN writes, Bridges is poised to become a “better offensive player – and sooner – than even the Hornets anticipated.” If Charlotte had expected this from the 23-year-old, Lowe adds, the team would’ve made a stronger push to lock him up to a rookie scale extension earlier this month.

Discussing Bridges’ impressive play on his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that the Hornets’ initial extension offer to Bridges was in the range of $15MM per year.

“When he was in negotiations for his extension, I’m told that the Hornets’ baseline offer was four years, $60MM,” Windhorst said. “… That was Charlotte’s baseline offer. They may have come up, but they were never really close.”

As Windhorst points out, once three-and-D forward Mikal Bridges signed a four-year, $90MM rookie scale extension with the Suns, there was no chance the Hornets were going to be able to lock up their own Bridges for anything in the neighborhood of $60MM. In fact, if the former Michigan State standout can maintain anything close to his current pace, he could match or exceed Mikal’s $90MM on his next deal.

It’s too late for the Hornets to sign Bridges to a rookie scale extension, but the club will be in the driver’s seat when he reaches restricted free agency next summer. There won’t be many teams with the cap room available to make Bridges an aggressive offer, and the Hornets – who have a relatively clean cap sheet going forward – would be able to match any offer sheet he signs. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the young forward this season to see just how high he can boost his value ahead of his looming free agency.

Stephen Curry, Miles Bridges Named Players Of The Week

October 25th, 2021 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors star Stephen Curry and Hornets forward Miles Bridges have been named the NBA’s Western Conference and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the first five days of the 2021/22 season, the league announced today (Twitter link).

Both Curry and Bridges helped lead their teams to three-game win streaks to open the year — Golden State and Charlotte are two of the NBA’s seven undefeated teams and are among the three that are off to 3-0 starts.

Curry, who led the NBA in scoring last season, picked up right where he left off by averaging 31.0 PPG and knocking down 14 three-pointers in his first three games. He also filled up the box score with 9.0 RPG, 7.0 APG, and 2.3 SPG, recording a triple-double and two double-doubles. Curry beat out fellow Western Conference finalists Nikola Jokic, CJ McCollum, Ja Morant, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Bridges is coming off a pair of 30-points outings and has averaged 25.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG overall, with a scorching-hot .542/.444/.938 shooting line. He took home this week’s hardware over Eastern finalists Seth Curry, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kevin Durant, Tyler Herro, Zach LaVine, Julius Randle, and rookie Evan Mobley.

Southeast Notes: Li. Ball, Bridges, Huerter, Heat

October 22nd, 2021 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Hornets signed and subsequently waived LiAngelo Ball before the regular season began, procedural issues will prevent the team from making Ball an “affiliate player” for the Greensboro Swarm, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

NBA teams can secure the G League rights of up to four affiliate players by signing and waiving them before the season begins, then having those players sign NBAGL contracts. In Ball’s case, he signed his G League contract before the Hornets signed him, explains Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. That’s why Charlotte can’t make him an affiliate player.

Ball will now be eligible to be selected by an team in Saturday’s draft, and he could actually be one of the more intriguing targets in a somewhat thin draft pool. Greensboro currently holds the 14th, 23rd, and 26th picks in the first round and could use one of those to select Ball — if he falls that far.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said this week that he believes a playoff spot is a realistic goal for the team this season, and added that the lack of a rookie scale contract extension for Miles Bridges by no means suggests the club doesn’t want to retain him long-term. “We love Miles Bridges,” Kupchak said, per Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. “… We did have conversations with his representative — up until the last minute. And the decision was made to let’s just wait and see how the season plays out. And we’ll approach it again in the spring when we’re able to talk.”
Hawks swingman Kevin Huerter, who signed a four-year, $65MM contract extension earlier this week, is excited about the fact that the team locked up several members of its core – including Trae Young, John Collins, and Clint Capela – to long-term deals this offseason, as Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution details. “We signed a lot of people to a lot of money this offseason. … As players, it speaks a lot,” Huerter said. “They kind of put their money where their mouth was. … There’s a lot of guys locked in for a couple years now as we try to make some noise.”
The Heat are starting the season without a 15th man on their roster because carrying another player would push them over the luxury tax line. However, team president Pat Riley said ownership would be willing to go into the tax this season if the Heat show they’re a legit contender and it makes sense to do so. “(Not) paying the tax, it’s never been a mandate, but it’s always been on my mind,” Riley said, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I’m not just going to say, ‘Every year we’re going into the tax,’ and then we don’t win and (team owner) Micky (Arison)‘s writing these big checks. I don’t think that’s fair. But, when we have a real contender, which I think we have, then we’ll entertain that. I think we’ll entertain it this year, too.”

Details On Starter Criteria For 2022 RFAs

October 21st, 2021 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s rookie scale, which determines the salaries first-round picks earn during their first four seasons, also dictates how much the qualifying offers will be worth for those players when they reach restricted free agency after year four. However, the value of those qualifying offers can fluctuate depending on whether or not a player has met the “starter criteria.”

Here’s how the starter criteria works in a typical year:

A player who is eligible for restricted free agency is considered to have met the starter criteria if he plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency.
A player can also meet the criteria if he averages either of those marks in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency. For instance, if a player started 50 games one year and 32 the next, he’d meet the starter criteria, since his average number of starts over the last two seasons is 41.

The first method of meeting the starter criteria will remain unchanged this season, but that second method will look a little different due to the truncated nature of the 2020/21 season.

For starter criteria purposes, the number of starts and minutes a player logged last season will be prorated upward by 82/72 to account for the 72-game schedule, Hoops Rumors has learned.

For example, Suns center Deandre Ayton started 69 games last season. Typically, Ayton would require 13 more starts this season to meet the starter criteria, since 82 total starts would get him to the required average of 41 over the last two seasons.

However, Ayton’s 69 starts last season came in just 72 regular season games. Prorated across a typical 82-game schedule, he would’ve made 78 starts. That means he’ll only need four starts this season to meet the starter criteria. In other words, he should get there next Wednesday, barring an injury.

Hornets forward Miles Bridges, meanwhile, only started 19 games last season, but he played 1,932 total minutes in Charlotte’s 72 games. That works out to 2,200 minutes when prorated across an 82-game schedule, meaning he’d require just 1,800 more this season in order to meet the starter criteria. Since he’s part of the Hornets’ starting five now, Bridges could also meet the criteria by simply getting to 41 starts in 2021/22.

A player’s ability or inability to meet the starter criteria can affect the value of the qualifying offer he receives as a restricted free agent, as follows:

A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 15th overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the ninth overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 21st overall pick would receive if he signed for 100% of the rookie scale.
For all other RFAs, the standard criteria determine the amounts of their qualifying offers.

In most cases, a qualifying offer is a mere placeholder that allows a team to retain its right of first refusal on a restricted free agent — very few players actually accept the one-year offer. Still, a player who fails to meet the starter criteria could have his free agency reshaped by an adjusted qualifying offer.

For instance, Kings big man Marvin Bagley III would be in line for a qualifying offer worth $14,762,309 if he meets the starter criteria or just $7,228,448 if he doesn’t.

Bagley would need to start 35 games this season in order to meet the starter criteria, which might be a long shot, given that he’s out of the rotation for now. Still, a $7.2MM qualifying offer could be more palatable to the Kings – or whichever team has him on its roster by the end of the 2021/22 season – than a $14.8MM one would be. Somewhat paradoxically, Bagley may have a better chance of actually receiving his QO if he starts fewer games this season.

Collin Sexton (Cavaliers), Lonnie Walker (Spurs), Donte DiVincenzo (Bucks), and Josh Okogie (Timberwolves) are some of the other top candidates to meet the starter criteria this season. We’ll be keeping an eye on them and the rest of 2022’s RFAs-to-be over the next several months.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Gafford, Hachimura, Collins, Bridges

October 19th, 2021 at 1:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic are being realistic about their expectations as they prepare for a season that will likely end with another trip to the draft lottery, writes Chris Hays of The Orlando Sentinel. With the league’s third-youngest roster at an average age of 24.7 years, Orlando will focus on developing its young talent rather than wins and losses.

“I don’t really set benchmark goals. I always believe that if you play the right way and play together, then the results will kind if speak for themselves,” said president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman. “Obviously, we’ve recalibrated what we’re doing right now, so with this group I do expect us to play hard. This is about growth. This is about the development of our players. It’s about a lot of young guys learning what it takes to win in the NBA.”

Weltman has upended the Magic’s roster since the March trade deadline, shipping out most of the team’s veterans in exchange for young players and draft assets. Mohamed Bamba, who is about to start his fourth season, is now second on the team in most games played for Orlando, and admitted surprise at becoming a veteran leader so quickly.

“I just try to do my part,” he said. “I don’t try to do too much, I don’t over-extend myself and when the younger guys come to me for anything, I try do the best I can to help.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension shows the value the Wizards place on their young center, observes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The team also has Thomas Bryant, the starting center before being injured last year, along with Montrezl Harrell, who was acquired in an offseason trade, but management decided to make a long-term commitment to Gafford, who is now the team’s only player signed through the 2025/26 season.
Wizards forward Rui Hachimura has cleared the league’s health and safety protocols and has returned to the team, Hughes tweets. However, he won’t travel with his teammates to Toronto for Wednesday’s season opener, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Hachimura will remain in Washington and will continue individual workouts with assistant coaches.
Hawks big man John Collins is relieved not to have to think about his contract situation this season after signing a five-year, $125MM deal with the team over the summer, he tells Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “It’s like getting a full, restful night of sleep. That’s what it felt like to sign the paper,” Collins said. “That relief of stress and pressure just felt like I was fully awake now. It put me in a better mood. It took me a while to understand the stress but in the moment, it’s just pure bliss.”
Miles Bridges didn’t work out a contract extension with the Hornets by Monday’s deadline, but he tells Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer that he loves playing in the city. “I’m just going to continue to get better,” he said, “and hopefully I can stay with the Hornets my whole career.”

Ayton, Sexton Among Players Who Don’t Agree To Extensions

October 18th, 2021 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While 11 players received rookie scale extensions this offseason, many notable players didn’t reach an agreement with their respective teams prior to Monday’s deadline.

As we detailed earlier, the Suns couldn’t come to terms with the No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft, Deandre Ayton. Phoenix was unwilling to offer Ayton a full max contract, which short-circuited any hopes of an agreement.

The Suns raised the concept of a shorter maximum contract — presumably for three or four years instead of the full five years — but never formally made the offer or broached the idea again with Ayton’s reps, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst report. Ayton is unhappy with the franchise’s consistent stance that it simply doesn’t view him as a max player, the ESPN duo adds.

That adds an intriguing subplot to Phoenix’s drive to make the Finals again. Ayton will be headed toward restricted free agent next summer. Will he be motivated toward proving the front office wrong or will his unhappiness create a major distraction? Ayton could be the most attractive free agent on next year’s market and receive a giant offer sheet, which would force the Suns to decide to match it or let their franchise center walk away.

Ayton has some company among his peers. The Cavaliers and guard Collin Sexton were unable to reach an agreement and he’s headed toward restricted free agency, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. Even though Sexton posted impressive offensive stats last season (24.3 PPG, 4.4 APG), his name was frequently mentioned in trade rumors this summer, a signal that the Cavs aren’t sold on the eighth pick of the 2018 draft as their long-term floor leader.

Sexton was hoping for a $100MM+, multi-year deal that aligned with his production over the first three years, Fedor reports. At one point this offseason, Sexton used De’Aaron Fox‘s five-year, $163MM extension in 2020 as a baseline. The Cavs were unwilling to go anywhere near that number and optimism waned in recent days about reaching an agreement.

The Hornets and swingman Miles Bridges also couldn’t come to terms, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets, nor could the Spurs and Lonnie Walker, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News tweets. Bridges averaged 12.7 PPG and 6.0 RPG last season, while Walker contributed 11.2 PPG in his third year.

Donte DiVincenzo, a key member of the Bucks’ rotation last season until he suffered a torn ligament in his ankle in July, is also headed to restricted free agency. DiVincenzo averaged 10.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 3.1 APG last season. Some of the other notables who didn’t sign an extension or were not offered one include the Kings’ Marvin Bagley III and the Magic’s Mohamed Bamba.

The list of players who did and did not receive rookie scale extensions can be found here.