Miles Bridges Is a Sun, And the D+ and D Grades From the League Are the Last Thing Phoenix Fans Want to Hear

Alright, Seattle sports fam, grab a cold one because the NBA world is buzzing, and not in a good way for the Phoenix Suns. They went out and acquired Miles Bridges from the Charlotte Hornets today, and let me tell you, the national reaction is pretty much a dumpster fire. We're talking mostly negative vibes, with some seriously brutal grades dropping like rain in November. This isn't just about a new player, it's about what the league is saying about the Suns' whole direction.

The Grades Are In, And They Are Not Pretty

ESPN hit the Suns with a D+ for this move. Ouch. Zach Kram over there pointed out that while Bridges adds size to a small perimeter, his defense is a problem. Seriously, the Hornets often had a worse defensive rating with him on the court compared to when he was benched. You have to wonder if the Suns are just a little too optimistic about Bridges because of his Michigan State connection. I mean, owner Mat Ishbia, coach Jordan Ott, and general manager Brian Gregory all spent years at Michigan State, with Gregory even consulting during Bridges' freshman year. Yeah, the Michigan State theory feels like it's been getting overplayed, but with every Spartan who ends up in the desert, it gets tougher and tougher to write it off as coincidence. Plus, Kram notes Bridges' size isn't exactly a massive step up from Royce O'Neale.

A Past That Lingers and an Identity That's

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Shaking Then you have The Athletic, which was a bit more generous with a B-, but even Zach Harper there couldn't ignore the elephant in the room. Bridges, who is 28, will be a free agent in 2027, so the Suns are going to need to re-sign him. Harper mentions he's been pretty healthy in his career, *except* for that significant time he missed when legal issues played out. We're talking about the domestic violence and child abuse charges he faced in 2022, to which he pleaded no contest to felony domestic violence. He didn't even play the entire 2022-23 season and was hit with a 30-game suspension, with 10 of those carrying over to the start of 2023-24. He only missed five games last season. Suns owner Mat Ishbia has worked hard to rework this organization's identity, but bringing in Bridges, given his past, just doesn't speak to that 'new direction,' does it? Harper does give them credit for fixing the power forward problem and grabbing a more reliable secondary scorer next to Booker. But still, the ghost of his past looms large. And to round out the critiques, CBS Sports slapped them with a straight-up D. So, you've got a D+, a B-, and a D. That's a mixed bag at best, with the negative side definitely outweighing the optimistic. This isn't going to be an easy road for them, and you gotta wonder how this plays out for Mat Ishbia's grand plan in the desert. The stakes are high for how Phoenix wants to be seen, and how they perform on the court will be under a microscope. We'll be watching, that's for sure.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.