Cavaliers Considering Sign-And-Trade for Prolific Lottery Team Scorer Miles Bridges

The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an active offseason.

First, the team canned longtime head coach J.B. Bickerstaff this spring, despite Bickerstaff having led the club to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2018 (i.e. LeBron James‘ last season in Cleveland).

After four seasons and change (he was a late replacement for John Beilein in 2019-20), Bickerstaff would ultimately finish with a 170-159 overall regular season record during his tenure with the franchise, plus a 6-11 playoff record, having made the postseason three times (including one play-in tournament berth in 2021-22) and two playoff appearances. Bickerstaff is now coaching the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Cleveland would go on to hire longtime Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson to replace Bickerstaff. Former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jordan Ott is joining Atkinson’s bench.

In the 2024 NBA Draft, Cleveland general manager Koby Altman selected small forward Jaylon Tyson out of Cal with the No. 20 pick in the first round.

Perhaps most importantly, the Cavaliers re-signed superstar guard Donovan Mitchell, the team’s best player, to a three-year, $150.3 million contract extension.

But the Cavaliers have been remarkably quiet when it comes to other transactions. Swingman Isaac Okoro, the team’s former 2020 No. 5 overall pick, has hit unrestricted free agency and seems unlikely to return.

Now, it appears Cleveland is interested in bringing aboard a talented-but-trouble combo forward, according to Marc Stein in a fresh Substack piece: Charlotte Hornets vet Miles Bridges.

“It is not yet clear how serious the interest is, but league sources describe Cleveland as a team to watch in potential sign-and-trade scenario for Miles Bridges,” Stein writes. “New Hornets executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson has said publicly that Charlotte hopes to retain Bridges, but Bridges is known to be interested in sign-and-trade options.”

Read More: Cavaliers News: With Donovan Mitchell Re-Signing, What’s Next in Cleveland?

After being selected by the Hornets with the No. 12 overall pick out of Michigan State in 2018, the 6-foot-7 power forward/small forward enjoyed a breakout season in 2021-22. Across 80 contests, he posted averages of 20.2 points on a .491/.331/.802 slash line, seven rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks a night. He finished seventh in the Most Improved Player voting.

He seemed primed to earn a massive contract in restricted free agency that summer.

Then, everything changed. In July, Bridges was arrested for felony domestic violence after a violent assault of his then-girlfriend Mychelle Johnson with two of their three young children present. He eventually pleaded no contest to the felony domestic charge and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Bridges was away from the Hornets throughout the entire 2022-23 season but was only officially suspended for 30 games between that year and 2023-24. In October 2023, he was alleged to have attacked Johnson’s car with their children inside and was charged with violating his probation and protection order.

This disturbing behavior has made the 26-year-old a strange target for any self-respecting team this summer. Does the fact that he averaged 21 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 2023-24 erase his heinous personal failings?