NBA free agency: Charlotte Hornets quiet on Day 1. What’s the deal with Miles Bridges?

In case there was any confusion about the Charlotte Hornets’ direction, Jeff Peterson tried to squash it.

After selecting 18-year-old raw Frenchman Tidjane Salaün sixth overall in the NBA Draft and adding a third point guard in KJ Simpson during the second round, the Hornets’ vice president of basketball operations did his best to assure the masses that ending the eight-plus year playoff drought remains a priority despite the mini youth movement.

“I wouldn’t say the timeline changes,” Peterson said during Friday’s introductory press conference for Salaün and Simpson. “We are just going to be incredibly thorough and patient, diligent, very creative and opportunistic in terms of how we build this thing out.

“We are not going to sit here and try to make the playoffs one season and then miss the playoffs for four or five seasons in a row after that. We want to get there and have sustained success.”

It’s time to put that plan into motion.

Free agency officially tips off at 6 p.m. Sunday, and the Hornets have to reshape a roster that needs more than a few tweaks. And the new composition all depends on what happens with their leading scorer from 2023-24.

There’s still not much clarity with how things will go with Miles Bridges. The Hornets had extra time to discuss the parameters of a potential deal thanks to a wrinkle in the new collective bargaining agreement and the two sides could’ve actually agreed to terms prior to the imaginary bell ring in the start of free agency, similar to what reportedly happened with Pascal Siakam staying with Indiana to the tune of $189 million over four years.

Without a hint of much traction during the past week, Bridges appears set to test the open market. Who knows how it will all unfold, because Peterson didn’t give much indication after the draft other than reiterating the Hornets’ interest.

“I don’t want to get into any individual negotiations that I’ve had,” Peterson said. “I’ve made it very clear to Miles that we want him to remain as a Hornet.”

Charlotte is maneuvering its cap situation to get ready for the league’s next year. The Hornets have already begun the furniture moving, waiving Seth Curry before his $4 million salary for 2024-25 became fully guaranteed and declining to pick up the $1.9 million fourth-year option on JT Thor’s rookie deal.

Each were cost-cutting situations, providing cap relief for a team that’s taking on salary, beginning with acquiring Reggie Jackson’s $5.25 million contract in exchange for three unprotected second-round picks from Denver. Curry’s release, however, doesn’t mean both sides won’t be amicable for a potential reunion once all the dust from the frenzy of activity over the coming days and weeks, per league sources.

Davis Bertans, as expected, didn’t exercise his early termination option before Saturday’s deadline, per league sources, putting him on the books at $16 million in the final year of his deal. However, the Hornets could use his salary to help match things up in a trade because it’s an expiring deal, giving it good value.

As things stand heading into free agency, the Hornets have roughly $13 million in practical cap space, according to Spotrac, and could have a maximum in the neighborhood of $30 million, although that would require several transactions such as renouncing the rights to multiple players.

Additionally, the Hornets can offer either the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $12.8 million per season or the bi-annual of $4.6 million, providing them with another avenue.

But what Peterson & Co. ultimately do hinges on how things go with Bridges and the answer should come soon with the league’s all-out negotiation period finally getting underway Sunday.