Hornets Reportedly Trading Miles Bridges To Suns For Grayson Allen, Royce O'neale, 1st-round Pick

The Charlotte Hornets are trading forward Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

In exchange, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-round pick are going to Charlotte. Phoenix will also receive a 2027 second-rounder in addition to Bridges.

The trade is the second major transaction made by the Hornets in the past week, following LaMelo Ball being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Charlotte has now traded two of its top four scorers from last season after making a significant improvement from 19 wins to 44 victories and qualifying for the play-in tournament as the Eastern Conference’s No. 9 seed.

Last season, Bridges averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists, also shooting 33% on 445 3-point attempts. Ball scored 20.1 points per game with 7.1 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals, shooting 37% on 740 3-point attempts.

However, the Hornets have bolstered their frontcourt by adding Naz Reid and first-round pick Hannes Steinbach to a unit that included Moussa Diabaté and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Charlotte also appears to be hoping that the playmaking and scoring Ball and Bridges provided will be covered with re-signing Coby White, acquired at last season’s trade deadline, in addition to adding Allen and O’Neale.

Allen, turning 31 in October, averaged a career-high 16.5 points and 3.8 assists while shooting 35% on 3s. O’Neale, 33, shot 41% on 3-pointers, scoring 9.8 points per game with 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

The Suns will save $20 million in luxury taxes with the trade, while also making a roster spot available before NBA free agency begins, according to ESPN. Bridges, set to be paid $22.8 million, can be an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season.

O’Neale is signed for two more seasons for a combined $22.4 million, while Allen is set to be paid $37 million including a $19.4 million player option for next season.