Miles Bridges takes responsibility for past, vows to earn trust with Suns

The Suns dealt Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 unprotected first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets last month for Bridges, a first-round pick in 2029 and a second-round pick in 2027.

The Suns officially announced the trade July 13.

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Bridges averaged 17.1 points in 77 games last season, helping the Hornets post their first winning record (44-38) since the 2021-22 season.

Bridges addressed several topics, as did Suns general manager Brian Gregory at the afternoon press conference.

Bridges on off-court actions

"It's mixed feelings about me being here, but, you know, I take full responsibility, you know, my actions. I've been to counseling. I've been to therapy. 
Right now, I'm just prioritizing, just being better as a man every day, on and off the court, mainly off the court, and just being a great father and earning the trust of this fan base and this community. I can't wait to get started. I'm very excited."

Bridges, 28, was involved in a domestic violence incident with the mother of his children, for which the NBA served him with a 30-game suspension without pay in April 2023. He initially was charged with three felonies related to the incident. He pleaded no contest to a felony charge of injuring a child's parent and was sentenced to three years of probation and no jail time. The other two felony charges were dropped.

He missed the entire 2022-23 season. In recognition of that outcome, the NBA deemed 20 games of the suspension had already been served.

Bridges said he was in counseling "for years" and still has communication with those who helped him.

"I'm comfortable with where I am right now," Bridges added. "I'm focused on being a great co-parent and being a great father and getting better on the court, as well."

Gregory on Bridges' past

"We conducted a thorough evaluation where we, where we, you know, looked at the conduct, the seriousness of that," Gregory said. "We also looked into was there accountability taken? 
Was there remorse? Was he growing as a person off the court? When we put all those together, we came to the conclusion and feel very, very, very strongly about the fact that he does and will live up to the standards that we have here. That he is a good cultural fit, and character fit. The basketball piece, obviously, we knew, but when you combine those two together, then we felt very, very comfortable, and comfortable isn't even the right word. We were excited. 
We were excited about what he could bring and then we went from there."

Gregory on unprotected pick

Gregory commented on the Suns dealing a 2033 unprotected first-round pick that was part of the Bridges' deal.

"We feel very comfortable with the overall, all the different aspects of the trade, getting another first-round pick back," Gregory said. "I remember multiple years ago, the question was we have no first-round picks, but that (2029) pick that we acquired, we're now gonna have seven straight years of first-round picks. Who would have thought it? 
And an additional second-round pick in that, as well. I think the one thing you have to look at when you're talking about an unprotected versus these favorable (picks) among two teams and different things like that, we're always gonna be good.

"So where are our draft picks gonna be? Especially with the new rules and all those different things? That pick value down the road was not the same as it was a year ago because of the changes in the draft lottery and different things like that. So we felt very comfortable. 
We thought it was a fair deal, but most importantly, we got Miles Bridges. So that, in my opinion, tipped the scales for us."

Bridges on Booker 'deserving a ring’

"I've always been a fan of Book," Bridges said. "He's always been a great player and probably one of the most underrated players in the league. I'm excited to play with him. I feel like if anybody deserves it, I think Book deserves a ring. So I'm ready to go to war with him every day and try to accomplish that goal."

Gregory on Bridges being 'perfect fit' in Phoenix

"Everything that we're about, as a team, when it comes to how you feel when you watch us play," Gregory said. "The grit. The energy, the toughness that we play with, the competitiveness that we play with, Miles Bridges brings out every single day, every time he walks onto the court,'' Gregory said. "That's exactly who he is, and with that, it's a perfect fit for where we're at right now, but also where we're building to. A unique skillset that was needed on our roster and also meshes well with our system and style of play. And so when you have those two situations, again, I talk about fit. I talk about the opportunity to come in here and make an impact". Obviously, his athleticism, skill level is elite. His ability to shoot the ball, to attack the basket, to make plays, to play in the open court, fits extremely well with our offensive system and style."

Bridges on his fit with Suns

"I'm excited to add to this team. I think I'm a perfect fit," Bridges said. "There's a lot of guys that can score and people that don't know me or probably saw me play with the Hornets, they probably think all I want to do is score, but I'm a willing passer and I want to get my teammates involved. Want to get my bigs going. Want to get all the guards going, get Book his points. So I'm very excited."

Bridges on Suns coach Jordan Ott

"JO, he's a real basketball nerd," Bridges said. "When I was going to some league practices and watching them, he was twitching to get out there. So I'm happy to be learning from him. He has a lot of a lot of experience in basketball and he focuses on defense and rebounding, and that's something where I think I could take the next step in, and that's something that I've committed to taking the next step in. So I think he's going to help me a lot. Watching a lot of film with him. I'm very excited for that. I think it's going to be great with JO."

Bridges on Summer League, building trust

"Yeah, for sure," Bridges said. "And I feel like me being around them during Vegas was a big piece. Just them getting to know me as a person, me getting to know them, but I definitely want to earn the trust of my teammates for sure. 
That's one of my biggest things."

Bridges and Mark Williams were teammates in Charlotte.

"I definitely want to earn the trust for my teammates first because just making the locker room comfortable," Bridges later said. "Having guys that want to be around me, me being around the guys, it's huge, and that definitely goes into, to on-the-court stuff. I know a lot of these guys already, but I got to know them in Vegas, as well."

Gregory, Bridges go back

"During Miles' freshman year (2016-17), I was at Michigan State as a consultant," Gregory said. "So that helped us (in making decision to trade for Bridges) in the fact that I know who Miles is as a person. I know who he is. I know all his mentors from Flint, Michigan., every single one of them."