Inside the Suns: Miles Bridges, evaluating the Suns’ offseason so far

Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — gives their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.

This week, please join us in welcoming Zenzino as the newest member of the Fantable!

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Fantable Questions of the Week

Q1: Because of his past, the acquisition of Miles Bridges has not been accepted well by many fans. Do you think it was a mistake by the front office?

Zenzino: It was jarring, to be sure. After all the talk about ‘character first’, this seems, at first glance, to be out of alignment.

At this writing, the trade is not official yet. I’m guessing we’ll be getting a press conference on or after the 6th. My opinion on this will depend on two things: how BG addresses Miles Bridges’ character and how Miles works to fit in during the season.

You can’t change the past. You can only move forward. Bridges has completed his mandated probation, domestic violence classes, parenting classes, and community service. For the past 2 years, he’s stayed out of trouble and worked to redeem himself in Charlotte. Sounds like he was largely successful. As I stated in a previous discussion, he’s going to have to do it again, probably to a lesser degree.

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I’m a big believer in earning second chances, emphasis on ‘earning’. The stain can never be completely removed, but the FO addressing it head-on and Bridges demonstrating that he has learned from his mistakes will go a long way.

Ashton: I am already on the comment record for grading this trade as an F. I really have not let up in my criticism of this trade inside further comment remarks.

Let me point out the positives of the trade.

2. Sorry all, I can’t do it. I am not really sure what benefit the Suns got in return. Cap space?

But seriously, what was the Front Office thinking? The Suns were supposed to be rehabilitating…er…rebuilding. That was the plan, and it was reasonable. Instead, they massively overpaid for a rehabbing project. I really hope the change of scenery does it, but it gets back to “do Zebras change their stripes?”. Can FO executives not make bad decisions on the golf course when the beverage cart rolls out in the summer?

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I am going to stop here as I was looking for a bar of soap to wash my mouth out for the rest of my post and it turned out to be a coffee-flavored bar of soap. Somebody gave it to me as a stocking stuffer, so it could work? But the idea of coffee-flavored soap is as stupid as this trade.

To sum it up, I lost a lot of faith in the FO with this trade.

OldAz: For starters, it’s hard to blame any fan that does not want to root for accused wife-beaters, child abusers, or even just hot-headed bad dudes. Mr. Bridges has certainly earned every bit of being in that category with his on and off-court issues, regardless of what context or how much the others might have contributed to those incidents. His exploits have far too often spilled over onto innocent bystanders like the 16-year-old fan hit in the face by his mouth guard in his 2022 on-court tantrum, and the children who witnessed the incident with Bridges and their mother. At a minimum, we are talking about a dude with massive self-control and anger issues in his past.

With all that said, I tend to avoid these conversations in all areas of entertainment. I don’t look to athletes to be role models, just like I don’t look to actors or performers for advice on life or politics. If we are honest and had consistency in not rooting for or supporting bad people, then our sporting entertainment options would probably be limited to youth sporting events (where even some parents are not allowed to attend) or watching pick-up games at the Y (and even then, many of those dudes would be disqualified if we knew all their darkest acts).

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As for the Suns’ decision, I will just say that it is a huge gamble. This is a franchise that has been to the precipice of winning it all with an overly likable team, and was there before with a team that (at the time) had Charles “I’m not a role model” Barkley, whom everyone loved because his on-court impact was greater than his (again, at the time) off-court antics.

It is also a team that shipped out good players who went on to have long and successful careers over far less than what Bridges has been accused of.

Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks came with a lot of negative attention and became fan favorites, but all of their “negativity” was based on hard-nosed basketball within the game. Bridges brings that and a whole lot more for fans to “get over”.

In my opinion, fans will end up being forgiving for the most part if he plays well and shows a modicum of contrition and desire to grow and be a better person. However, no one really believes that Bridges is the final missing piece that puts them back playing deep into the playoffs, so this bar for playing well may be impossibly high. As I said, I think this is a huge gamble by the Suns, and as a fan, I hope it works out well for the team and Bridges.

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Rod: I’m taking a wait-and-see position on this one. Yes, there’s been a good amount of backlash from many fans, but I’m willing to wait until the season gets underway before calling it a mistake or a win or something in-between. While some fans are likely never going to view this as anything more than a mistake, I want to see Bridges’ fit with and impact on the team before calling it that. Like it or not, he’s a member of the team now, and what he does on the court is how I’ll measure this trade as a mistake or not.

Q2: In your opinion, from a pure basketball point of view, have the roster changes the Suns made (so far) actually improved the team?

Zenzino: Short answer: I don’t know.

How do we define ‘improved’? Better record? Higher seed? 2nd Round of Playoffs? Finishing stronger?
I was a very vocal ‘run it back’ supporter. I felt that they would get better with the same roster. The injuries to Green and Brooks were anomalous. I expected to see more of the ‘rookies’. A more experienced Ott. More time playing together. The list goes on.

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On paper, they have improved. But, I have concerns.

• Chemistry – In addition to the grit, one of the big things that was a breath mighty wind of fresh air was how this team obviously liked each other and loved playing together. That locker room chemistry was a huge part of what made them so much fun to watch last season. My hope is that this environment is something that Bridges embraces and thrives in.

• Shot Distribution – Green and Brooks averaged around 17 shots per game last season, and Booker and Bridges averaged around 18. That’s almost 80% of shots per game from only 4 players, and no one should be averaging close to what Booker averages. I would like to see offensive-minded Book from the pre-KD trade this season. Brooks came here wanting to prove he has an offensive game, so I don’t see him backing off and Green and Bridges are volume scorers; they need those attempts.

• Playing Time – I was thinking that Man Man and Rasheer would get some solid minutes in the rotation this season and maybe Sheer even cracks the starting lineup. Now, I don’t see that happening. More than ever, it looks like the Suns are working the ’two timelines’ game, and I’m not sure if that ever works out.

The trade brings with it more questions that can only be answered throughout the season. If Green and Bridges can work some downhill chemistry, they could be devastating with rim pressure, not to mention highlights. That pressure could open up Book to be the mid-range assassin he built his reputation with. Kennard was a great (and improbable) signing. He’s definitely going to have to get his shot attempts up.

All that being said, I am cautiously optimistic. Despite all the angst during the playoffs, this coaching staff and FO have earned my trust this past season. We spend a lot of time thinking about the goal, but the journey is what keeps us entertained, and I’m here for it.

Ashton: Losing RO and GA hurt, but Kennard was a good pickup to fill the shooting vacuum.

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But this whole buzzword of being a 50-win team is ludicrous. 45 wins last year was ludicrous, and I would caution against expecting any more than 40 wins in a rebuilt Western Conference. I want to see how the final trade cycle ends, as well as Summer League viewing to give my final prognostication on the Suns win total.

But, for the most part, I like the direction that the Suns have taken with keeping the roster intact. Until, whatever Q1 was.

OldAz: I 100% think they will be better (although it may take some time to see it). The one area that they have stepped back is obviously shooting. Kennard helps there, but only when he is on the court. And even then, Kennard is 2″ taller than Allen, who was often playing in the front court last season.

By swapping Royce O’Neale for Bridges, many point out that Bridges is almost the same size, but they ignore that Bridges has played both forward positions his entire career, whereas RO was clearly out of his depth when he was matched up with the 2nd largest player for the opponent. In this way, Bridges is a lot like Brooks as both are undersized when playing the “power forward” role, but both are strong enough and athletic enough to pull it off. When the Suns were going well last season, all of Brooks’ minutes were at the PF position.

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Also, by reducing the log jam of guards at the top of the rotation, Fleming should have a clearer path to earn playing time if (or when, from my perspective) he proves worthy. One of the centers flanked by ANY combination of Brooks, Bridges, Fleming, Dunn, or even Highsmith is superior to what Ott was running out there for long stretches late last season, which was a center surrounded by Allen, O’Neale, or Goodwin along with 2 smaller guards. Yes, they have to solve the shooting, and yes, on paper this is a lot of high-volume, low-efficiency scorers, but they did what I and many fans were asking for by getting longer and more athletic and clearing the way for some of the youngsters to contribute more. In the long run, I think this will make them better.

Rod: Yes, I believe they have. They lost a bit of their downtown shooting but have picked up some bigger bodies and added more quality depth to the roster…especially if we see even small jumps by Fleming and Maluach this season (which I have no reason to bet against). Last season, this was a tough team to beat…IF their threes were falling. If those threes weren’t falling, they faltered. They had no one other than Green (who missed most of the season) who really attacked the basket. They weren’t balanced offensively, but this season they have moved to correct that.

I don’t expect the Suns to be a far better team than last year, but still better. I believe the key to just how much better will rest upon Ott’s shoulders and his ability to best use the new tools he now has on the roster.

And there are some other teams in the West that are still in the process of making changes this summer. Some of them might look good on paper, but who knows how they’ll actually look on the court. What other teams are doing now will play a part in the Suns’ degree of success — or lack thereof — in 2026-27.

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Q3: The Suns have moved early on everything this offseason. They could stand pat until training camp, but do you think they should do so?

Zenzino: I think they are done for now and I’m good with that.

They have a(n over) full roster (the news just broke about Pat Spencer). I don’t think there are any margin moves at this point that would make a difference. And I am absolutely in the camp of let’s see what a full season of Jalen Green looks like before we give up on him.

From the looks of it, they did everything quickly on purpose. They didn’t wait around for the FA market to develop. They went after what they wanted straight out of the gate. Ever since the season ended, the whole team was ready to get back to work, and I think they wanted to solidify the roster asap so they could do just that.

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Ashton: Yeah, that works for me. BG gets an early vacation, and everyone else gets to gel with teammates over the summer. There are still a lot of NBA teams trying to finalize their rosters, and who the heck knows where LeBron ends up. Not interested.

No further movements needed other than to finalize the two-ways. Pat Spencer has one. That does seem like a good pick-up. There are two spots left, and they can only play 50 games on the “extended audition” for the regular roster.

OldAz: This totally depends on what opportunities arise. I think they are set and can totally go into the season with this roster and hope to be competitive and even build on what they did last season. This isn’t predicting any championships, and even second round of the playoffs would be a total stretch, but they are moving forward and not making themselves worse IMO. However, they have to stay engaged with what else is out there.

If someone talks themselves into wanting Green or Brooks or any of the current roster and it brings back an upgrade (starting PG who can also shoot/score, or a bigger PF/wing), then you have to be ready to move. This probably does not look like what fans throw out there on Twitter/X, as fans often get infatuated with older players who are beyond their primes and are stuck seeing them through the lens of that player’s no-longer-existent prime. This may look more like swapping young players who both need a new start, but fit a different role in roster construction.

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If that opportunity presents itself, they need to be ready always. If it does not, they should stand pat and go into the season comfortable that they executed on what they wanted to accomplish.

Rod: I don’t think they will and believe they shouldn’t. They may not actually make any more moves, but they shouldn’t take the rest of the offseason off and should be continuously working the phones in search of any possible upgrade over what they already have. What that move might be, I won’t speculate on, but you never know what might pop up between now and the beginning of the 2026-27 season.

As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!

Quotes of the Week

“It’s special being from the Valley. Just watching [the Suns] through the years, seeing how much better they’ve gotten. To be part of that journey now is a super special moment for me. I’m just blessed to be in this position. That next morning, I was still trying to take it in and still couldn’t believe I’m a Phoenix Sun. Still can’t believe it, honestly. I’m just super excited.” – Koa Peat

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“The most important thing for us, with Koa, is that he plays with passion, he plays with energy. There’s a juice about him when he’s on the court. I know he brings that every single day. The impact he has on the court with winning basketball is critical.” – Brian Gregory

Suns Trivia/History

On July 5, 1988, the Phoenix Suns officially signed power forward Tom Chambers, formerly of the Seattle Supersonics, to a 5-year $9 million contract. This was the first unrestricted free agent signing in NBA history.