When the Phoenix Suns acquired Miles Bridges, a plethora of questions entered my mind. And one of the first was whether or not they would extend him. He is entering the final year of his contract at $22.8 million, so the possibility existed that Phoenix moved off the $29 million owed to Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale to save money in the short term while creating more financial flexibility moving forward. But when I saw that the Suns attached their unprotected 2033 first-round pick to make the transaction work, my thinking changed.
I don’t believe it would be responsible to attach an asset that valuable simply to move off money. That leads me to believe the Suns have a longer-term vision for Bridges, which got me thinking about two questions. What would an extension look like, and when should Phoenix offer it?
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My opinion? This isn’t a decision that should be rushed. Bridges becomes eligible for an extension on July 14, but eligibility doesn’t mean the organization needs to immediately put a contract in front of him. The reasonable and responsible way to navigate this is to wait and see. How does Bridges fit within the system Phoenix is building? How does he respond to his teammates? More importantly, how does he look on the court alongside them?
For all the numbers and analytics you can gather, the one thing that remains difficult to quantify is chemistry. The Suns should give themselves time to determine whether that chemistry exists between Bridges and the team they’re building. If it does, give him the contract. If it doesn’t, start thinking about an exit strategy.
The Suns don’t have to be in a rush because there are two options relative to a Miles Bridges extension that currently exist. The first is if they opt to sign him within six months of the trade. Seeing as the trade becomes official tomorrow, July 6, that would put the six-month mark at January 6, 2027.
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That gives Phoenix plenty of time to execute the strategy laid out above and evaluate how Bridges fits within the confines of this roster. They can see how he plays alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green, how he responds to…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/miles-bridges-extension-could-look-190000534.html
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Publish date : 2026-07-05 19:00:00
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