Phoenix Suns team owner Mat Ishbia and franchise all-time leading scorer Devin Booker addressed several topics during the team’s media day Sept. 28 at Mortgage Matchup Center, with one being the Miles Bridges trade.
Phoenix moved Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and an unprotected 2033 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick.
"I feel great about the Miles Bridges trade first. First off, Royce and Grayson were two great players, great part of our team," Ishbia said. "We're gonna definitely miss those two guys, but bringing in Miles, on the court, he's a phenomenal player. He's done amazing things. He's gonna be a great fit from a cultural perspective. His work ethic, his drive, his athleticism,
his toughness. It fits exactly what we're building here in Phoenix. And so, from a basketball perspective, we feel extremely great about that fit on our team, and he was a player that we targeted as that."
Bridges averaged 17.1 points on 46% shooting, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2025-26 in 77 games. The 6-7, 225-pound forward brings experience, athleticism and physicality to the power forward position.
"He's something that we were lacking a bit last year with his size, his versatility on both ends of the court," Booker said. "I think he's an underrated playmaker from his position. Somebody that can get the rebound and push the break also and he can exploit matchups that aren't his size. So he can take advantage of the mismatches. I'm excited to share the court with him."
Bridges was involved in a domestic violence incident with the mother of his children, for which the NBA imposed a 30-game suspension without pay in April 2023. He missed the entire 2022-23 season. In recognition of that outcome, the NBA deemed 20 games of the suspension had been served.
"Off the court, what Miles did was unacceptable, cannot be condoned by anyone in America, hopefully," Ishbia said. "You know, that's just completely off. Now, he's been held accountable. He showed remorse, you know, and we have standards here in Phoenix, and that's not to our standards, and it will not be allowed anywhere near that type of level here in Phoenix."
Bridges played college basketball at Michigan State, where Ishbia was part of the 2000 national championship team.
"I feel extremely good about Miles and how he feels about what happened and how he's gonna be a better man,' Ishbia said. "And he has taken accountability. And so Miles got a second chance in Charlotte, and now he's here in Phoenix. And I think his job every day is to show on the court what an amazing player he is, and then also off the court, to show everyone what kind of guy he can be in this community, with his kids, with his family, and all the things he can do around the community. I'm really confident and excited for you guys to meet Miles and see Miles in that way. And so we feel really good about it."
Ishbia also addressed the Suns yielding an unprotected first-round pick for Bridges.
"I've heard for years that I don't have any draft picks," Ishbia said. "We've had a first-round pick each of the last three years. We got them each of the next four years. (Suns general manager) Brian Gregory and his scouting team, the whole team, these guys do a hell of a job getting good young talent. I'm not going to name every player, but from (Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, Koa Peat). Of course, Ryan (Dunn) and Oso (Ighodaro). We've got great young players, and we got picks.
"So I'm not worried about the 2033 first-round pick. We also got a first-round pick back. We got a second-round pick back. We feel really good about our ability to build around this team, but we got a great player with that pick, and also giving up a couple other good players, and we feel really good that our team is better this year going into it than we were last year, and Miles is a big part of that."
In the final year of a three-year, $75-million deal, Bridges is eligible for a three-year extension up to $86 million.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What Suns' Mat Ishbia, Devin Booker think about Miles Bridges trade
