The NBA starts the new season on October 24th. But the Charlotte Hornets currently have completely different topics on the agenda. In the middle: Miles Bridges. The 25-year-old winger is actually one of the main pillars in the team and averaged over 20 points in the 2021/22 season.
However, in November last year, Bridges was sentenced to three years probation after domestic violence charges were filed against him. The NBA also drew conclusions from this and suspended him for 30 games, of which ten games are still outstanding in the new season.
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However, things could get even worse. As ESPN reports, Bridges now has to appear in court again because he is said to have violated the terms of his probation. On October 6th, the power forward allegedly destroyed his ex-girlfriend’s car by throwing billiard balls at it while their two children were sitting in the car. In addition, he is said to have threatened not to pay maintenance in the future if his former partner contacted the police.
A situation that is of course unpleasant for the Hornets. The franchise said it wanted to collect more information first. An official hearing is scheduled for November 13th in Charlotte. Bridges had just extended his contract with for another year after missing all of last season.
Absurd social media appearances
However, the 25-year-old is not the only player who has forced the Charlotte Hornets to make necessary decisions in recent weeks. Center Kai Jones also caused a stir with absurd social media appearances and public trade demands.
The former first-round pick received a lot of attention a few weeks ago when he suggested via X (formerly Twitter) that he could beat NBA legends like Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James one-on-one. He also compared himself within the team to stars like LaMelo Ball and claimed that he was the better player. In addition, he publicly criticized his teammate Mark Williams for his style of play. “Show me a video of him (Williams; editor’s note) picking up the ball, going left and scoring,” said Jones.
Fans sometimes even worried about the center’s health, as he was visibly sweating and acting erratically in an Instagram live stream.
As a result of these social media appearances, Jones has been absent from the Hornets’ training camp since September 30. Officials cited “personal reasons.” The culmination of the “Jones” case was his public trade demand on social media, to which the Hornets responded on Wednesday by firing him.
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However, compared to Bridges, Jones’ sporting loss is apparently smaller. Last season, the center only put up 3.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks.
Frank Ntilikina’s loss due to injury is likely to be more serious in terms of sport. The Frenchman suffered a broken tibia against the Boston Celtics in the preseason. The guard will be examined again in four weeks to assess his healing process. But the 25-year-old definitely has to pass for the start of the season.
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Sporting decisions are also criticized
In addition to the players’ controversies, the sporting decisions have once again caused people to shake their heads. Experts considered Victor Wenbanyama and Scoot Henderson to be the two best players in this year’s NBA draft.
While Wenbanyama went to the San Antonio Spurs first, the Hornets still had a chance to select point guard Scoot Henderson at second. All-Star LaMelo Ball already plays in this position for the Hornets. For this reason, they chose forward Brandon Miller, which led to some significant criticism from fans and experts.
Overall, the Charlotte Hornets (formerly Charlotte Bobcats) have only managed to have a successful season very rarely in their history. In 34 seasons so far, they have only qualified for the playoffs ten times and won a mere 43.8 percent of their games. Only the Memphis Grizzlies have even weaker odds. Charlotte has never won a title.
The GOAT leaves the ship
Perhaps this ongoing drama and lack of success is also the reason why probably the greatest of all time sold the team again. Or was it just the tempting prize?
In 2010, NBA legend Michael Jordan acquired a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets franchise for $275 million. 13 years later he sold his shares for an incredible $2.7 billion profit.
Despite “MJ’s” entry at the time, success remained elusive. Even under Jordan’s leadership, the franchise was only able to reach the playoffs twice. And this year it once again looks more like drama off the pitch than sporting success on the court.
2023-10-23 18:44:15
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