Miles Bridges: I'd Love to Play with LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier for Rest of My Career

Miles Bridges is a restricted free agent this offseason, but he indicated he wants to remain with the Charlotte Hornets. 

"Charlotte took me in as a 20-year-old kid, and now I’m a 24-year-old man, and I love it here," Bridges said, per Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer.

The forward is especially a fan of the young roster featuring LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, as he explained Thursday:

"I would love to play with Melo and Terry for the rest of my career. Those are my guys, my brothers. All of us damn near averaged 20 (points) this year, so just to have that type of relationship with such dynamic players and bring it to the basketball court every night, you don’t see that too much in the NBA. And we have that relationship and that’s what it is. It will always be like that. So I’m just happy to be a part of them."

Ball has two more years of his rookie contract while Rozier is signed through 2025-26, providing a long window for the trio if Bridges signs a new deal.

The Atlanta Hawks eliminated Charlotte in the play-in tournament, but the Hornets could be dangerous in the future with more development.

Bridges should have plenty of interest around the NBA after a breakout 2021-22 season.

The fourth-year player set career highs with 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. His scoring average jumped 7.5 points from last year as he became a go-to option offensively.

Bridges emerged as a two-way weapon and led Charlotte with 7.2 win shares, per Basketball Reference.

Though any team can offer him a new contract this offseason, the Hornets can match and likely won't want to let him go.

With his affinity for the city and the organization, Bridges seems likely to remain with Charlotte.