Hornets trade Miles Bridges to Suns days after LaMelo Ball stunner

The Hornets have completed another franchise-altering move, trading forward Miles Bridges just days after stunning the NBA by sending franchise point guard LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Bridges was dealt to the Suns along with a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-rounder for veteran shooters Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, along with an unprotected 2033 first-round pick.

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The trade marks the end of an era for the Hornets, who have now moved on from the two players that defined the franchise for much of the past six seasons, for better or worse.

Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball walk off the court after defeating the Sacramento Kings at Spectrum Center on March 24, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Getty Images

Ball, along with Josh Green, was traded to Minnesota earlier this week in one of the offseason’s biggest surprises as Charlotte received Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three future first-round pick swaps in 2028, 2029 and 2030 and three second-round picks.

Now, Bridges — his longtime running mate — has followed him out the door and into the Western Conference.

Charlotte appears intent on reshaping their image.

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Jeff Peterson, formerly the assistant general manager of the Nets, and head coach Charles Lee, a championship-winning assistant with the Celtics and Bucks, will look to ensure that the team moves forward with a different identity.

The Hornets have been built around the Ball-Bridges duo since they drafted the former at No. 3 overall in 2020, but the organization still hasn’t seen playoff basketball since 2016.

Still, these big moves are not without controversy, considering that the Hornets were No. 1 in net rating in the calendar year of 2026 and ended the season on a 28-10 run, giving them 44 wins — their most since 2015-16 — and their third play-in trip since 2021.

Miles Bridges has been with the Hornets since the 2018-19 season, other than the 2022-23 campaign, where he didn’t play primarily due to a domestic violence incident. Getty Images

The team did fall short of the playoffs after being blitzed by the Magic in…

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Publish date : 2026-06-28 20:43:00

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