After Bridges’ camp declined a four-year, $60 million contract offer last fall, sources confirmed, he is expected to command a maximum salary that could total five years, $173 million this summer. League personnel believe the Hornets will match any offer sheet for Bridges. That could either dissuade teams from making an earnest attempt at signing him, unnecessarily tying their hands for 48 hours. Or it may encourage a rival suitor to force Charlotte to pay his full max, as the Brooklyn Nets once did with Washington and Otto Porter.
More on Miles Bridges Free Agency
James Edwards: I agree. I like Ayton. I don’t think they’re going to go that deep into the well for him. Same for Miles Bridges. He’s a guy that’s been attached to them because he’s from Flint, Michigan. I like Miles, but if you end up with a forward in the draft and you already have Saddiq Bey, I don’t see committing that type of money.
How much do you still want to be a part as we like to talk about long term and be here forever? Miles Bridges: If I could, I'd pull a Dirk or a Kobe, you know. I love being in Charlotte. I love the fans. I love the atmosphere and I want to be a part of some that's building. We're building something. And eventually we want to win a championship.
“I’m not worried about the money,” Bridges told The Undefeated after getting 32 points, nine rebounds and making five 3-pointers in a 114-92 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 3. “I’m really just worried about playing the right way and winning. I will let my agent worry about all that stuff and just worry about the game.”
The Charlotte Hornets offered Miles Bridges a four-year, $60 million contract extension, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on his podcast The Hoop Collective (via RealGM). "When he was in negotiations for his extensions a couple of weeks ago, I'm told the Hornets' baseline offer was four years, $60 million," Windhorst said. "Which is $15 million per year. If you look at what Mikal Bridges, which we've compared him to during his career, got ... which some people in the league feel is an overpay."
Marc Stein: League source confirms that Charlotte’s extension offer to Miles Bridges topped out at four years, $60 million before the Oct. 18 deadline, as @WindhorstESPN reported.
Chris Haynes: Charlotte Hornets and swingman Miles Bridges will not reach agreement on a rookie-scale extension before the deadline and he’ll become a restricted free-agent at the end of the 2021-22 season, league sources tell @YahooSports.
