PHOENIX, July 2 -- Miles Bridges walked into the Footprint Center last week carrying a contract worth $22.8 million, one year left on it, and a reputation complicated enough that Charlotte had already decided he was expendable. The Phoenix Suns decided he was exactly what they needed.

The trade, confirmed Sunday, sends Bridges to Phoenix in exchange for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and a 2033 first-round pick. Charlotte also sends a 2029 first-rounder and a 2027 second-rounder going the other way. On paper, it reads as a veteran-for-veteran swap with draft seasoning. In practice, it is two franchises running in opposite directions at full speed, and neither of them is pretending otherwise.

Phoenix gets a 27-year-old forward who average...