Phoenix Suns Made One Costly Bet in Miles Bridges Trade

It's no secret the Phoenix Suns' offseason will be seen as either a massive success or forgettable flop thanks to the acquisition of Miles Bridges.

After a summer that followed mostly the status quo in bringing back familiar faces, the Suns made a swing at the fences with Bridges' arrival. Bridges, for reasons on and off the court, lands in Phoenix with some massive question marks.

But what will really define their deal with the Charlotte Hornets — and thus the offseason?

The Athletic's David Aldridge says it's the 2033 first-round pick Phoenix included in the trade.

"Getting Bridges from Charlotte makes sense. He’s physical and can score, though he’s never been much of a 3-point threat when playing big minutes. He’ll take some pressure off both Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks for different reasons, and the Suns did well to keep Gillespie from reaching the market," he wrote after ranking the Suns at No. 20 in his NBA offseason power rankings.

"Phoenix should have enough depth and continuity from last year’s surprising team to remain playoff competitive in the West. Giving up that unprotected 2033 first-rounder as part of the Bridges trade, given how much future draft capital Phoenix has already sent out, gives me some pause, though."

The Suns don't have control over their first-round picks for the next six seasons, and 2033 could very well be a season where Phoenix is forced to rebuild rather than reload.

However, Suns general manager Brian Gregory was quick in a recent press conference to highlight Phoenix has first-round picks in the next seven drafts.

“We feel very comfortable with all of the overall aspects of the trade,” Gregory said after the Bridges trade.

“Getting another first-round pick back — multiple years ago the question was we have no first-round picks, [but] with that pick that we acquired, we’re now going to have seven straight years of first-round picks. Who would have thought it?

“... Especially with the new rules and all those different things, that pick value down the road was not the same as it was a year ago because of the changes in the draft lottery and different things like that. So we felt very comfortable. We thought it was a fair deal, but more importantly, we got Miles Bridges, so that in my opinion tipped the scales for us.”

The Suns continue to bank on immediate success rather than their own slew of draft picks. We'll see if that pays dividends.

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