Charlotte’s Miles Bridges wanted $25 million annually in free agency, the Hornets responded with a one-year qualifying offer

Miles Bridges has played four seasons in the NBA but missed all of 2022-23. The 25-year-old was dealing with some off-the-court issues related to a domestic violence case. He’s lost out on millions because of this and was far off in recent negotiations with the Hornets. Bridges were still seeking $25 million annually in a contract. The Hornets were not even close to that, giving him a qualifying offer of $7.9 million for one season. Due to his circumstances, Bridges quickly signed that deal. 

This past April, Bridges was issued a 30-game suspension by the NBA. The league deemed that he served a 20-game suspension last season, leaving him out of the first 10 contests for Charlotte in 2023-24. In the 2021-22 season, Bridges played in 80 of Charlotte’s 82 games. He started all 80 games he appeared in.

The former first-round pick is looking to put his past behind him and focus on being an elite two-way player for the Hornets. Charlotte missed his offensive production last season as a 20+ point per game scorer.

Miles Bridges wanted $25M per year from the Hornets, per @JakeLFischer

“One year later, it’s no surprise a similar market didn’t materialize for Bridges, who was seeking upward of $25 million in average annual value from the Hornets this July, league sources told Yahoo Sports.… pic.twitter.com/e5c4R9xXA8

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 6, 2023

The Hornets and Miles Bridges were far off in free agency negotiations

In terms of his contract value, Bridges is missing out on nearly $20 million per year. His domestic violence incident took place on the eve of when he was set to become a restricted free agent. This then clouded any negotiations he’d have and it cost him the entire 2022-23 season.

That doesn’t mean that he can’t work his way back to a multi-million annual deal. Before the incident, there were multiple teams around the league that had an interest in Bridges. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported that the Pacers, Pistons, and Grizzlies might have offered him $30 million annually.

Putting the off-the-court issues aside. Bridges is still a young and talented player in the NBA. He gave the Hornets quality production in his last full seasons played. The 25-year-old averaged (20.2) points per game in 2021-22. He’ll be looking to prove his worth to the Hornets after he serves the final 10 games of his 30-game suspension.