Miles High: The Miles Bridges Thread

[JMAC3]

There should be no world where Miles Bridges gets labeled a losing player and Kyle Kuzma is getting mocked in trades for 2 first rounders. If we are just talking about Basketball.

Kuzma signed a 4/90 last year or 22.5 million
Bridges a 3/75 this year or 25 million.

Basically, the same contract if you assume the discount for more years and cap spike over the last 12 months.

Bridges 26.3 yrs old
Kuzma 28.9 yrs old

Stats Last year

Bridges 21/7.3/3.3 on 46.2/34.9/82.5 shooting splits
52.7 EFG Per 15.4 WS 2.2

Kuzma 22.2/6.6/4.2 on 46.3/33.6/77.5 shooting splits
52.1 EFG Per 15.7 WS 0.2

Kuzma Career Win Shares 15.3 or 2.19 per year
Bridges Career Win Shares 18.2 or 3.65 per year

[JMAC3]

Player Off/Def/Overall
Bridges EPM 75/45/66
Kuzma EPM 75/33/59

[Rich4114]

I just chimed in on the GB, I couldn't not call some of them out. That Lakers guy especially is just salty his team couldn't get Miles on a MLE discount IMO. And for anyone going the moral compass route, consider that his ex Michelle also hit a big pay-day because she's going to get roughly 40% of his earnings AFTER taxes.

[JMAC3]

Been thinking on this, but I think 3/75 might actually be better than giving him 4/80.

To me the extra 5 million per year isn't really a big difference and we have more flexibility quicker. Especially as the contract ages, in a year he will have 2/50 left instead of 3/60 in that scenario. Which feels easier to move if we decide on that direction.

[Rich4114]

Been thinking on this, but I think 3/75 might actually be better than giving him 4/80.

To me the extra 5 million per year isn't really a big difference and we have more flexibility quicker. Especially as the contract ages, in a year he will have 2/50 left instead of 3/60 in that scenario. Which feels easier to move if we decide on that direction.

$25m over 3 years considering the contracts being handed out, the cap going up and what Miles produces on the court - efficient or not is a good deal for the Hornets.

[amcoolio]

I just chimed in on the GB, I couldn't not call some of them out. That Lakers guy especially is just salty his team couldn't get Miles on a MLE discount IMO. And for anyone going the moral compass route, consider that his ex Michelle also hit a big pay-day because she's going to get roughly 40% of his earnings AFTER taxes.

That wasn't even the GB, that was the trade board. The GB is far more cesspool-y

[MasterIchiro]

I don't know what it is about the personalities dominating the trade forum, but there certainly seems to be some inherent smugery towards Charlotte Hornets.

Our front office beat even fans' asking price on PJ and Terry, which seems to be part of the problem. We have low standards for our own assets and devalue them publicly. We normalize the negativity then feel so surprised when it circles back in our faces.

I won't call out our own fans by name but just will say some contribute to the problem.

Going back to last trade deadline and certainly covering multiple drafts, our front office old and new has made plenty of defensible moves where Hornets fans fail to mount any defense, instead opting to trash the org alongside fans outside the actual fanbase.

I think we have a roster finally where there's a great deal to work with as a starting point. And you can't deny the injuries contributing to recent performance.

It was time to cut ties with Gordon, Terry and make a choice between Miles and PJ.

I think we made the correct choice with all 4 assets.

You win some, lose some.

[Rich4114]

Winning cures these problems. Right now, we're not taken seriously because this team has not earned it. They started to earn it a few seasons ago, but since that last play-in blow out we have been a joke and it's expected. I'm not going to defend the org, it's been too much nonsense (and a lot of bad luck) but I'd by lying if I didn't say things feel much more hopeful now. Cautiously optimistic is a good way of putting it. And when we land a deal like Miles Bridges on 3/75, let's not let anyone gaslight us into thinking it was a bad deal somehow.

I also think that we're viewed as a farm team in the trade forum for many posters where you can get our players for cheap or once guys expire, they can just be had on the MLE or vet minimum like Monk. Then when that doesn't happen, the stupid Hornets made a bad choice.

[MasterIchiro]

And we returned value on Hayward (Mann + Micic + 2 second rounders), Terry (lightly protected 1st plus long term cap relief), PJ (Grant + lightly protected 1st). We add Josh Green free. We yield 3 second rounders for taking Reggie.

Now all of a sudden we are stupid again? We're signing a dude worth 25 per to 25 per but he deserves MLE, and we deserve him because he's a miserable human being and we're a miserable org?

How about some fair and balanced moderation over there instead of the dog-piling and moping.

[MasterIchiro]

Winning cures these problems. Right now, we're not taken seriously because this team has not earned it. They started to earn it a few seasons ago, but since that last play-in blow out we have been a joke and it's expected. I'm not going to defend the org, it's been too much nonsense (and a lot of bad luck) but I'd by lying if I didn't say things feel much more hopeful now. Cautiously optimistic is a good way of putting it. And when we land a deal like Miles Bridges on 3/75, let's not let anyone gaslight us into thinking it was a bad deal somehow.

I also think that we're viewed as a farm team in the trade forum for many posters where you can get our players for cheap or once guys expire, they can just be had on the MLE or vet minimum like Monk. Then when that doesn't happen, the stupid Hornets made a bad choice.

I for one am ready to feel positive about the whole enchilada of better basketball, not just the promise of a young core that's virtually identical across the two recent regimes.

I believe we are much better off without Rozier and Gordon because we have a deeper bench, and more touches will be available to Miller and LaMelo as primary and secondary scoring options in their place.

I always considered Miles part of the core and PJ more of a player straddling the border of the core and the periphery.

We are loaded with assets.

We are working on maybe the 10th player on the depth chart (Nick Richards), or maybe the 11th or 12th. We saw him play as a fixture just last season. We have the maneuverability to turn him into a spare part or a cheap insurance policy.

[LofJ]

Everyone loves to punch down on the Hornets. The only way it will stop is if the team starts winning. Thankfully, most of the pieces are there for that to happen. We just need good health and to make smart upgrades when and where we can up and down the organization. If you aren't performing you can and will be replaced. That message should be loud and clear given the huge amount of new faces throughout the organization.

[KembaWalker]

TnT board is a dump because it’s run by Chuck. If he deems a trade a bad offer he locks the thread but if he disagrees with you he acts like a little paggro baby. And he projects all his homerism onto other people with whining.

He was the one in there saying Josh Green for PJ would be terrible for Dallas (viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2353927&p=111292513&hilit=Josh+green#p111292513), now reality has turned it into Grant a 1st round pick for PJ and Josh Green for free and still he will just dump on Charlotte for every transaction, if anything those transactions just made him even more perpetually salty

I think a lot of people fundamentally don’t understand how basketball teams are built, they want to act like every Hornets player is trash because they’re on a trash team. You’d think watching PJ go to Dallas and be a high contributing starter when he was a bench player for us would demonstrate to these people that it’s a bit more complex than they think and the difference between good teams and bad teams is more about option 1-2 and not that the entire rosters are garbage

[Walt Cronkite]

What's the Carlin quote about how stupid the average person is? Interacting with many of those posters as a Hornets supporter is a Sisyphean task.

[EmpireFalls]

The sad truth is that teams without much success and national attention always end up this way. We don’t have a large fanbase, obviously, so the hordes of idiot Lakers, Warriors, Celtics, Mavs fans etc way out number us.

What this comes to is a majority view being an extremely casual view, but constantly repeated and reinforced. The average person’s take on the Hornets is lol LaMelo bling and injured and Miles Bridges beat his GF and Miller was accused of accessory to murder. It’s real life idiocy, and it happens everywhere not just sports. The majority group who knows absolutely nothing and are absolute casuals about a subject often get into arguments with the minority group who actually knows and lives the real thing being discussed.

It’s not even worth discussing us most of the time on the GB but I’ll do it anyways. If we stop then it’ll only get worse.

[MPM]

The most ignorant are the most vocal and righteous. Way of the world. My little bro knows next to nothing about basketball but he knows everything about basketball. Magic fan. I congratulated him on the KCP signing and he told me he and his friends hate it - they wanted to sign Chris Paul. I considered explaining the player KCP would be for them but just exhaled and moved on. C'est la vie.

[KembaWalker]

The sad truth is that teams without much success and national attention always end up this way. We don’t have a large fanbase, obviously, so the hordes of idiot Lakers, Warriors, Celtics, Mavs fans etc way out number us.

What this comes to is a majority view being an extremely casual view, but constantly repeated and reinforced. The average person’s take on the Hornets is lol LaMelo bling and injured and Miles Bridges beat his GF and Miller was accused of accessory to murder. It’s real life idiocy, and it happens everywhere not just sports. The majority group who knows absolutely nothing and are absolute casuals about a subject often get into arguments with the minority group who actually knows and lives the real thing being discussed.

It’s not even worth discussing us most of the time on the GB but I’ll do it anyways. If we stop then it’ll only get worse.

It’s actually hilarious seeing Mavs fans specifically wringing their hands about Bridges and the morals of our team. If there’s one team that’s boldly, aggressively anti-women it’s the Dallas Mavericks. Not to mention their football team gladly snapping up Greg Hardy when they thought he was still all pro caliber DE

[luciano-davidwesley]

And we returned value on Hayward (Mann + Micic + 2 second rounders), Terry (lightly protected 1st plus long term cap relief), PJ (Grant + lightly protected 1st). We add Josh Green free. We yield 3 second rounders for taking Reggie.

Now all of a sudden we are stupid again? We're signing a dude worth 25 per to 25 per but he deserves MLE, and we deserve him because he's a miserable human being and we're a miserable org?

How about some fair and balanced moderation over there instead of the dog-piling and moping.

Well said

[JDR720]

Most of them simply dislike Miles and the other players on the team (mainly Melo).

The last time we were good, Miles led the team in win shares (7.2) and was 2nd in VORP (2.2). Franz Wagner had 6.4 win shares and 1.9 VORP this season and got 200-270m for it and it's something Orlando had to do to keep him.

Meanwhile, Miles getting 25m per year is awful and we should've dumped him for pennies if nothing at all.

There is no on-court argument that exists that says Franz Wagner is worth triple what Miles is.

[NCHeels2008]

There should be no world where Miles Bridges gets labeled a losing player and Kyle Kuzma is getting mocked in trades for 2 first rounders. If we are just talking about Basketball.

Kuzma signed a 4/90 last year or 22.5 million
Bridges a 3/75 this year or 25 million.

Basically, the same contract if you assume the discount for more years and cap spike over the last 12 months.

Bridges 26.3 yrs old
Kuzma 28.9 yrs old

Stats Last year

Bridges 21/7.3/3.3 on 46.2/34.9/82.5 shooting splits
52.7 EFG Per 15.4 WS 2.2

Kuzma 22.2/6.6/4.2 on 46.3/33.6/77.5 shooting splits
52.1 EFG Per 15.7 WS 0.2

Kuzma Career Win Shares 15.3 or 2.19 per year
Bridges Career Win Shares 18.2 or 3.65 per year

Kuzma was a solid to strong defender from '19-'22. Once in Washington he regressed defensively but that's to be expected. Considering character and track record I think Kuzma has the better deal relatively comfortably. Miles Bridges is Corey Maggette with more hops.

[NCHeels2008]

Most of them simply dislike Miles and the other players on the team (mainly Melo).

The last time we were good, Miles led the team in win shares (7.2) and was 2nd in VORP (2.2). Franz Wagner had 6.4 win shares and 1.9 VORP this season and got 200-270m for it and it's something Orlando had to do to keep him.

Meanwhile, Miles getting 25m per year is awful and we should've dumped him for pennies if nothing at all.

There is no on-court argument that exists that says Franz Wagner is worth triple what Miles is.

Is Franz getting $75 mil a year? Last I saw he was getting $45M. Miles was seconds away from being a murderer instead of a domestic abuser. Its obtuse and loser talk to act like that's not a major factor. The team is ok rolling that character dice for 40% off the going max for kids this age, it seems like a decent enough risk. He doesn't seem to be a downer on the locker room, I'd prefer the Hornets not pay such a disgusting person so much money but yea its a decent deal.