Why rookie Miles Bridges could be 'big-time' for Hornets, plus final minicamp notes

The Charlotte Hornets concluded a weeklong minicamp at the Spectrum Center on Thursday, a day before the team makes its NBA summer league debut in Las Vegas. While there are plenty of storylines to follow out in the desert, one has become very apparent.

The play of first-round pick Miles Bridges.

Speaking with media on Thursday, coach James Borrego was effusive in his praise of Bridges, who is expected to see heavy minutes in Las Vegas.

"Bridges, he's a big-time player," Borrego said. "I saw these last few days why we drafted that kid. He's got a high basketball IQ, a high motor. Plays extremely hard. Gives us versatility, can guard multiple positions, rebounds his position.

"He shoots it better than I thought, so he's been very impressive the last few days. I look forward to watching him tomorrow."

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Bridges was a 37.5 percent career 3-point shooter in two seasons at Michigan State, but he has lost 20 pounds since the end of the college basketball season. That lighter frame should aid Bridges' quickness and potentially allow him to find more space when shooting from the perimeter.

Defensively, he has guarded every position in practice this week, another benefit of his offseason weight loss. Bridges should play primarily at the two forward spots this week and once the regular season begins.

"He's a bull," Terry Henderson, the former N.C. State star and Hornets summer league player, said of Bridges. "He's really one hard dude to guard in transition. He's a good kid, as well. His potential is through the roof, man. I feel like he's so strong and athletic, he can get anywhere he wants to go on the court."

Other notes from minicamp:

▪ Borrego said that while results matter to him in summer league, they should happen as a byproduct of the other things he's watching for. "I want to see them play together. Get a feel for each other, get more comfortable with being around each other," he said. "Trying to establish a culture of unity, of playing together, playing disciplined. So if I see that this week, the results will take care of themselves."

▪ Since the draft late in June, Borrego and general manager Mitch Kupchak have stressed the need for a secondary veteran ballhandler behind two-time All-Star Kemba Walker. The team has yet to address that position in free agency, though, and the number of quality options have dwindled significantly. As such, it will be interesting to monitor the play of second-rounder Devonte' Graham in summer league — if Graham shines, there is still a chance he could win the backup point guard job behind Walker. Borrego said he expects Graham to "run the group at a very high level this week."

▪ Center Willy Hernangomez, acquired in February from the New York Knicks, returned from his native Spain to take part in summer league this week. Borrego said Hernangomez, who has only attempted 27 NBA 3-pointers in two pro seasons, will look to show off his perimeter skills this week in addition to his post game. "He's going to do a little bit of both," Borrego said. "He's going to set screens and roll to the rim, he can play in the pocket. He can play in the interior and finish ... but he can stretch it out to 3 for us. So you're going to see him this week play on the perimeter some. He's going to be shooting 3's."

▪ How much will Malik Monk and Dwayne Bacon play in summer league? Both should start and play heavy minutes in the team's opening three contests (it will play a minimum of five contests). But Borrego said Thursday he wasn't opposed to shutting a player down "if at some point we're good with certain players."

This story was originally published July 5, 2018 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Why rookie Miles Bridges could be 'big-time' for Hornets, plus final minicamp notes."