It started with Gobert, then it hit others hard

Miles Bridges was issued a criminal summons for violating a domestic violence protective order, misdemeanor child abuse, and injury to personal property on Wednesday.

Bridges is accused of throwing billiard balls at her vehicle while the children were inside it, smashing the windshield and leaving dents in the car, according to the summons.

Bridges is also accused in the summons of threatening her that if she “told the police he would take everything from her and withhold child support” and that he “allowed his current girlfriend to yell, scream and kick the victim’s car while the children were inside it.” The summons does not say if the woman was in the car.

Bridges also has an unserved arrest warrant for violating a domestic violence protective order from January 2.

Neither the summons nor the warrant has yet been served.

“We are aware of the reports and are in the process of gathering more information,” said a spokesperson for the Hornets.

Bridges is currently serving a 30-game suspension for a domestic violence incident in 2022.

Bridges, who is set to miss the first 10 games of this season, signed a $7.9 million qualifying offer with the Hornets earlier this summer.

Ben Simmons believes he will have a bounce back season after missing the entire 21-22 season and only playing in 42 games last season.

“I’m excited because I know I can do it,” Simmons told Marc J. Spears of ESPN Andscape on Aug. 25. “So, that’s the exciting part for me. [Last Thursday] night, I’m like, ‘Yo, let’s get back in the gym.’ I’m excited. I get to do something I love to do at a high level. Regardless of what people say, I’m a three-time All-Star, All-NBA player, [All-] Defensive Team. I’ve done things. I’m not somebody that hasn’t done anything.

“But at the end of the day, that’s what you want to do. You want to go out and compete against the best in the world and be one of the best.”

Simmons has been working out five days a week for at least five hours per day to get his body ready.

“For me to come back and dominate people will be great,” Simmons said. “I don’t intend to come back the same player I was last [season], because that’s not even close to where I am. I get excited because I’m like, ‘Damn, I would [expletive] on the player I was last year.’ But I know where I was at last year, so it’s easy to say that. But it’s just fun to go and do the thing that you love when you’re out there. That’s really it for me. I don’t really ask for too much.

“Sometimes I think about [my recent struggles]. I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s a lot.’ Sometimes I sit down and break it down. ‘That was exhausting that I was having to deal with all that.’ But I feel like there are different situations you can handle, and this is a good test for me. How much worse can it get?”