Early Returns Suggest Hornets Absolutely Fleeced Suns in Miles Bridges Trade

The Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns have been frequent trade partners over the last few years. When you examine the trades those two have done since Jeff Peterson took over as GM for the Hornets, it's curious as to why.

Routinely, the Hornets get the best of the Suns. It started when they plucked Jusuf Nurkic and a first-round pick (Nurkic turned into Collin Sexton, who was traded for Coby White), and it didn't get better for the Suns.

The Hornets also did well in the Mark Williams trade, but the most recent example only has a few games of proof. It's still enough to say the Hornets walked away with a huge win in that deal as well.

The Hornets sent a 2029 first-round pick (which is going to land in the late 20s), Miles Bridges, and a 2027 second-round pick to the Suns for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and a 2033 unprotected first-round pick.

It was seen as a big win for the Hornets immediately. Getting off of Bridges and adding a 2033 first was huge. But Allen has quietly been amazing. One could easily argue he's been the best player involved in the deal.

Here are his numbers through four games:

• 109.2 offensive rating
• 108.5 defensive rating
• 0.7 net rating
• 74.6 true shooting
• 13.0 PIE

Here is Bridges, for comparison:

• 102.6 offensive rating
• 126.4 defensive rating
• -23.8 net rating
• 49.2 true shooting
• 8.5 PIE

Just swapping Bridges for Allen alone would've been a huge boost for the Hornets. But they also got O'Neale. He hasn't played a ton, but his numbers are solid, too. He has a -1.0 net rating, but that's still light years ahead of Bridges.

So, to sum it up, the Hornets got the better player in the deal, added depth, and got the much better trade asset back. The 2029 pick the Hornets traded was viewed as a pretty inconsequential pick. The post above refers to it as a "fake first," and it's not hard to agree.

The Hornets made out like bandits, and that's the third time they've taken advantage of the Suns' front office. So, while it's been the gift that keeps on giving, one would imagine the next time Peterson calls up Matt Ishbia and company, he might get hung up on.

But until then, we can enjoy all the benefits of the relationship.

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