Insider Connects Jazz to Hornets F Miles Bridges Ahead of Free Agency

The Utah Jazz may have some interest in adding the Charlotte Hornets forward.

Apr 7, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) celebrates / Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports

Some free agency buzz is starting to surround the Utah Jazz as we inch closer to the bulk of this summer's NBA offseason.

Despite the playoffs still being in full effect, a few names are appearing on the radar for the Jazz as players to watch as a potential acquisition in the coming weeks. Among the early candidates for Utah has been Charlotte Hornets' Miles Bridges, the 26-year-old forward who was previously arrested in 2022 on domestic abuse and child abuse charges.

According to NBA Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Jazz have emerged as one of many squads with interest in the Hornets forward before free agency.

"With forward Miles Bridges entering unrestricted free agency, it’s uncertain whether he’ll return as a member of Charlotte’s core. The Hornets, Detroit Pistons, and Utah Jazz are among the notable teams expected to have interest in Bridges during free agency, league sources told HoopsHype."

Alongside the Jazz and Hornets, it also seems the Detroit Pistons could be a team in play for Bridges as well. They'll enter the draft with around $60 million in cap space and could be in the market to spend big.

Bridges finished his 2023-24 campaign averaging 21.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 46.2/34.9/82.5 splits. With the Jazz's cap space and a need for wing depth, the fit would make sense on paper if there weren't any outlying questions regarding his fit on the team after his legal issues, but it's made teams reasonably weary of dishing a lengthy and/or contract to the Michigan State alum.

Bridges pled no contest to a felony of injuring a child's parent in November of 2022, eventually sentenced to three years of probation. He was also suspended for the first 30 games of the 2023-24 NBA season after missing the entirety of the previous year for the incident.

Keep a keen eye on the Jazz if contract talks go sideways for Bridges and the Hornets, as it seems like they could be a prime candidate to covet his services.

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