Active Hornets could use Miles Bridges to get important big man in trade

The Charlotte Hornets have a slight problem now: they're pretty low on centers. Just a week ago, this would've sounded impossible, but trades sending Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic out west have depleted the reserves. Even a draft pick refilling them is not quite enough.

Could Charlotte swing another trade for a big man? They seemingly have a decent enough trade chip in Miles Bridges and a need. They're also clearly very active on the market, so is there a way to flip Bridges into a big man and fill the newest hole in the lineup?

Bridges currently has a pretty big role on the team, but as a third (or fourth, after the selection of Kon Knueppel) option, a different team might be better for him. The Los Angeles Clippers, a contender, make sense.

They could send Bridges, a 2026 second-round pick (via Golden State Warriors), and a 2031 second-round pick (via New York Knicks) to the Clippers for Ivica Zubac. The Hornets would have a lower salary coming back, which is why they attached the picks. Otherwise, they're both similar in quality, and Zubac is just a year older than Bridges. Zubac has one more year of control, too.

This gets the Clippers some more firepower as they load up and try to compete in the West. It does open up a need at center, but they have options there in free agency or with Drew Eubanks. Bridges is the better player here, so LA might take it, plus they get some tradeable assets, something they don't have a ton of.

Miles Bridges — NBA mock trade | Spotrac

Ultimately, this is probably not happening. The Hornets have made two huge trades already (huge for their standards, at least), so a third would be an utter shock. Plus, while the center situation is a little more dire, subtracting a power forward for a center might not be ideal.

That would then make the power forward position pretty thin, too. It would leave the Hornets with Tidjane Salaun starting and Grant Williams mixed in once he's healthy. DaQuan Jeffries and Liam McNeeley could take minutes at the four, too, but again, it's pretty thin.

This could be more realistic at the deadline when the Hornets have Williams back in the fold as a big man providing depth, but for now, don't expect the Hornets to keep firing off trades and send Bridges elsewhere.

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