Over the last couple of seasons, Miles Bridges has often been found in trade rumors surrounding the Phoenix Suns. He doesn’t have to worry about those rumors anymore.

The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to trade Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick to the Suns in exchange for Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-round pick.

The Suns get someone that Mat Ishbia, a Michigan State alum like Bridges, has probably been coveting for a while. The Hornets continue their makeover while bringing in more outside shooting. Let’s bust out the red ink and slap some grades down on this trade.

Suns receive Miles Bridges, 2029 first-rounder and 2027 second-rounder

The Suns definitely need a forward with some strength, and Bridges is a guy who definitely fills that role.

Over his last four seasons, he’s averaged 19.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game with 46.2/33.1/82.8 shooting splits. He’s not someone who stretches the floor, necessarily, but he’s great at getting into the paint and scoring around the rim. This Suns team could use that force around the basket. Bridges can score in isolation and in the pick-and-roll, and he’s great at playing off the ball. He can be fantastic at attacking with cuts and orbiting around where the help defense is moving away from.

With this move, the concern for the Suns is how little outside shooting this roster has now. Collin Gillespie is a great shooter and just agreed to return, and Jordan Goodwin was above league average at 37.1 percent from outside last season. But Devin Booker has regressed as a 3-point shooter over the last two years (33.1 percent), and Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks aren’t reliable, consistent outside shooters. Is that a reason not to do this move? Not at all! It’s just something that will be tough for their offense next season. But they’re going to put a lot more pressure on the rim, and they have more size to throw around defensively.

The Suns are also getting a first-round pick while giving up a first-round pick. It’s not necessarily a net neutral with that, even though it’s a pick for a pick. We don’t know what the draft lottery system is going to be after 2029, so it’s difficult to know where that 2033 first-rounder value comes in. We just know that the Suns have no control over their draft picks through 2033 now. They’ll still have picks because of swaps in 2027, 2028 and 2030, and they’ll also have their own 2032 first-rounder, which is a frozen pick at this point. They have to be pretty confident in Booker, Green, Brooks, Bridges and Mark Williams in the next couple of years.

Bridges, 28, is a free agent in 2027, and the Suns obviously will need to re-sign him. He’s been pretty healthy in his career, though he did miss significant time as the legal process played out when he faced domestic violence and child abuse charges in 2022. (Bridges pleaded no contest to felony domestic violence.) He did not play in the 2022-23 season and was issued a 30-game suspension that carried over as 10 games for the start of 2023-24. Bridges missed just five games last season.

There are still major holes within this roster, even as the Suns fix the problem at power forward. But they’re grabbing a more reliable secondary scorer next to Booker, and that should help him quite a bit.

Grade: B-

Hornets receive Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-rounder

The Hornets have now moved Bridges, LaMelo Ball, Josh Green, a 2029 first-rounder and a 2027 second-rounder for Allen, O’Neale, Naz Reid, two 2033 firsts and three future second-round picks. That’s after having a massive turnaround in the middle of this past season and looking like one of the best teams in basketball during the second half.

So what are they doing?

I think the Hornets looked at their situation and realized they were about to have to pay Bridges (with a new contract) and Ball (with a two-year extension for around $120 million). They believe Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller are their actual players to build around, and head coach Charles Lee can shape the rest with versatility, outside shooting and flexibility.

O’Neale and Allen add a lot of shooting. The Hornets had the third-highest 3-point percentage in the NBA last season, and they may be the best outside shooting team in the league next season. They’ll have to create those shots for one another, which becomes tougher without Ball and Bridges. However, the alternative was locking themselves into long-term contracts they didn’t necessarily believe they could compete with in the Eastern Conference.

O’Neale shot over 40 percent from deep last season and is at nearly 39 percent for his career. Allen suffered through injuries and had a mediocre shooting season at 34.9 percent from deep, but he shot 41.9 percent in his previous six seasons. The Hornets also brought in the best shooter in this year’s draft, Christian Anderson.

The Hornets might take a slight step back in 2026-27, but they’re armed with so much draft capital and trade assets moving forward. This is another good move by them.

Grade: B+