Miles Bridges trade details: Hornets send athletic forward to Suns, land Grayson Allen

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If the Charlotte Hornets have proven anything in the early days of the 2026 NBA offseason, it's that they're ready to take another step forward next season.

After nearly ending their playoff drought in 2025-26, winning 44 games but falling in the Play-In Tournament, the Hornets made the first surprising deal of the offseason by parting ways with franchise point guard LaMelo Ball, adding significant draft capital before signing Coby White to an extension.

With Charlotte's guard rotation already set to look different in 2026-27, on Sunday, the team reportedly agreed to ship another starter out of town — Miles Bridges is heading to Phoenix, with the Hornets acquiring draft capital and two veteran contributors in return.

Here's a look at the Suns-Hornets trade that should shake-up next year's rotations for both squads.

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Miles Bridges trade details

Hornets receive: G Grayson Allen, F Royce O'Neale, 2033 1st-round pick
Suns receive: F Miles Bridges, 2029 1st-round pick, 2027 2nd-round pick

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Suns are landing Bridges, plus Charlotte's first-rounder in 2029 and second-rounder next year. In exchange, the Hornets are acquiring Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neal and the Suns' 2033 first-rounder.

It's a fairly interesting deal in terms of value — while the Suns are landing a double-digit scorer and athletic wing for their frontcourt, and the Hornets are getting a versatile guard who can bring some shooting and defensive tenacity, the teams are also swapping first-round picks that are four years apart.

After Ball was recently shipped to Minnesota, the Hornets are continuing somewhat of a re-tool following a step forward in 2025-26. Bridges had been the subject of trade rumors many times in the past — but he's spent his entire career in Charlotte, with seven years of NBA experience under his belt as he heads to Phoenix. With three 20-plus-point-per-game seasons, Bridges will bring plenty of offensive juice to the Suns, who are also saving $20 million in luxury taxes with the move, per ESPN.

Charlotte, meanwhile, gets some backcourt depth in Allen following Ball's departure. A team that once had a plethora of guards was needier than usual at the position after trading Ball, but with White extended and Allen in the fold, the Hornets are building out some depth. O'Neale will also provide some defensive and shooting off the bench.

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Hornets lineup projection

G: Coby White
G: Grayson Allen
F: Kon Knueppel
F: Brandon Miller
C: Naz Reid

The Hornets are already looking like a redesigned team this offseason. As things stand, they could have options for how they want to roll out a starting lineup.

Knueppel is certainly a capable shooting guard, but with his size, he could be a starting wing while also keeping as much shooting on the floor as possible. The recent acquisition of Naz Reid gave Charlotte a big man who can function as a four or five positionally while spacing the floor — and it's not hard to imagine a unit of White-Allen-Knueppel-Miller-Reid ranking among the NBA's leaders in 3-pointers.

Either prized rebounder Moussa Diabate or recent first-round pick Hannes Steinbach could also be a starter, which would likely remove Allen from the starting five and slide Reid to the power forward spot.

Suns lineup projection

G: Devin Booker
G: Jalen Green
F: Dillon Brooks
F: Miles Bridges
C: Mark Williams

The Western Conference is always difficult, but it's hard to look at the Suns' roster and not see a path to playoff contention in 2026-27.

Devin Booker remains the superstar in Phoenix, and while he's not much of an elite passer, he's functioned as a capable point guard in recent seasons. With Jalen Green and Collin Gillespie providing added scoring in the backcourt, Booker's playmaking skills have been more key.

In the frontcourt, Dillon Brooks enjoyed a breakout scoring season in 2025-26 after being traded to the Suns. He remains an elite defender, and the acquisition of Bridges should mean that Brooks is able to focus more on that end of the floor, rather than needing to be a go-to offensive weapon for Phoenix.

The Bridges-Mark Williams tandem should be one of the more athletic big men duos in the NBA next season, each capable of jumping out of the gym. With recent first-rounder Koa Peat also an intriguing bench option, the Suns have built a lineup around Booker that has the potential to bring shooting, all-around scoring and athleticism on a nightly basis.

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