Woj: Hornets Eye Miles Bridges Contract in NBA Free Agency After Trade Deadline Ends

After the Charlotte Hornets retained forward Miles Bridges past the NBA trade deadline on Thursday, it sounds like the team intends to keep him around well beyond this year.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in the latest episode of The Woj Pod that the Hornets are hoping to sign Bridges to a new contract this offseason.

"I'm told that, we reported it last night, that he was very unlikely, they had decided to keep him and their goal is to re-sign him this summer," Wojnarowski said at the 24:40 mark.

Bridges' agent Rich Paul told ESPN's Brian Windhorst that Bridges informed Charlotte he would not approve any trades thanks to the trade veto power he has in his one-year, $8 million contract.

The decision allows the Hornets to maintain Bridges' Bird rights when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, giving them the option of re-signing him to a long-term deal or doing a sign-and-trade. However, it now appears they plan on keeping him around for the foreseeable future.

Wojnarowski noted that Charlotte "talked with a few teams" about Bridges prior to Thursday's deadline, but he called the 25-year-old a "complicated player to trade for." He has a court date scheduled for Feb. 20 stemming from an alleged violation of a protection order in the domestic violence case that caused him to miss the entire 2022-23 season.

In 39 games this year, Bridges is averaging a career-high 21.9 points. He recorded back-to-back 40-point games this week for the Hornets, who have a 10-40 record and have lost nine straight games.