Miles Bridges appeared before the media for the first time as a Phoenix Suns player on Wednesday, and General Manager Brian Gregory was right there alongside him.
The 28-year-old addressed his previous off the court issues right away which was the correct way to begin life in The Valley, but it was Gregory's brief appraisal of the forward that raised some eyebrows.
Gregory calls Bridges "perfect fit" on this Suns team
Entering his second season as the GM, Gregory nailed his colors to the mast right away on the decision to give up Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and a 2033 unprotected first round pick for his services.
But believing he is the perfect fit for what the organization is trying to do feels wrong on two levels.
Obviously he was never going to come out and talk about the risk involved in adding a player with the baggage of Bridges and what it cost to get him, but the best part about the Suns last season was how fun they were to watch and how much fans bought into the group.
So no, right now from a culture perspective Bridges is not the perfect it in Phoenix, but that doesn't mean he can't be. Perhaps his experiences to this point will make him the ideal teammate and somebody who Devin Booker can form a close relationship with.
Then there is the actual fit alongside the players the Suns have on their roster, and that again looks far from ideal right now. A frontcourt featuring Bridges and Dillon Brooks falls between the cracks of not being big enough to battle opponents down low or skilled enough offensively to be a consistent threat.
Make no mistake, this pairing will be very good and if anything Brooks is a better offensive player, 3-point shooter and tenacious defender than he is given credit for.
He was the best player for the Suns in their playoff series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder last season. But Brooks also does some of his best work as an oversized guard in certain lineups, and that can't happen with Booker and Jalen Green in the starting five with them.
If Green is moved this is a different conversation, while the spacing issues having a center like Mark Williams out there are also clear for all to see.
In fact there are already two other Suns who are intriguing fits next to Brooks who will be pushing for Bridges' minutes right away.
Perfect? Anything but right now, and Gregory saying so represents the biggest gamble of his career in The Valley to this point.
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