Phoenix is fortifying their Summer League and G League teams with the signings.
Just because the NBA Draft is over doesn’t mean the Phoenix Suns are through roster building. Especially true with a G League affiliate at their disposal with the introduction of the Valley Suns, the moments after the draft are important. The team can add an undrafted player on a two-way contract that they can develop.
James Jones did this on Thursday, adding players who will either join Phoenix on two-way contracts or via Exhibit 10 deals.
First up, signing a two-way contract is Baylor’s Jalen Bridges.
Baylor's Jalen Bridges agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Suns, sources said. Bridges chose Suns over several other two-way offers.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
Jalen Bridges
Bridges (nice last name) is a 6’7” forward who played alongside Yves Missi and Ja’Kobe Walters, both drafted in the first round of the draft. After three years at West Virigina, Bridges transferred to Baylor, averaging 12.2 points on 53.8% shooting and 41.2% from three-point range (on 5.1 attempts) last season. He also shot 82.3% from the free throw line and added 5.7 rebounds.
A solid prospect, Bridges is described as follows by Last Word on Sports’ Benjamin Yu:
Jalen Bridges enters the 2024 NBA Draft as a prospect who has the potential to be a 3-and-D wing due to his shooting and defensive upside. Coupled with his high basketball IQ and competitiveness as a player, Bridges has the traits of what a good role player should be.
This is a solid addition and he will be someone we anxiously watch while playing in the Vegas Summer League.
Phoenix also added two players via Exhibit 10 contracts. What are Exhibit 10 contracts, you ask? From what I gather from HoopsHype, they are contracts that teams with G League affiliates can exercise, and they can have up to six of them. Hey, that’s us now!
Essentially, they are one-year, minimum-salary deals with optional bonuses up to $75,000. Teams sign them to add players to their Summer League teams, giving them a right to retain them if they like. If a player on an Exhibit 10 contract is waived before the regular season and plays for the team’s G League affiliate for 60 days, they earn the bonus. The bonus incentivizes staying with the G League team rather than signing overseas. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way contracts before the season starts, guaranteeing the bonus.
The Suns signed Boo Buie, the all-time leading scorer in Northwestern history, and Florida forward Tyrese Samuel.
Boo Buie
Buie is a 6’2” point guard who earned All-Big Ten honors twice and scored 2,187 points over his five seasons with Northwestern. Last season he scored 19.0 points per game, doing so on 43.8/43.4/85.8 splits.
At 23 years old, Buie was one of the older prospects available in the draft, which may have hurt his overall appeal. But not to James Jones. He’s just Champ’s type.
What did No Ceilings have to say about Buie when they were previewing Northwestern’s NCAA Tournament game against FAU?
Boo Buie is Northwestern’s best player. The 6’2” graduate guard is a great playmaker and deadeye shooter (43.1% from long range in regular season play). But at his height and without outlier physical traits, he might be on the outside looking in when it comes to the NBA.
A Sun Rises. @boobuie has signed an Exhibit-10 deal with the @suns pic.twitter.com/ST42Qcnyrw
— Northwestern Basketball (@NUMensBball) June 28, 2024
Tyrese Samuel
Samuel is a 6’10” All-SEC Team forward who is 24 years old. The Canadian played four years at Seton Hall before transferring to Florida last season. He had a solid season, averaging 13.9 points per game on 56.4% field goal shooting, plus 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest.
He entered the 2023 NBA Draft but chose to rescind and transfer to Florida. He worked out with the Nets in pr-draft workouts, where Sharif Phillips-Keaton noted:
Looking at some of Samuel’s tape, it seems that he does most of his damage at the rim and given his size, it’s possible that he can be the threat in the pick-and-roll or on dribble handoffs. Samuel isn’t particularly athletic so while being a dangerous lob threat may be out of the question, he appears to be comfortable with the ball in his hands either in the half court or in transition.
Buie and Samuel are why you love having a G League team. Will they develop into NBA prospects? Perhaps. But they certainly can be a G League mainstay, guys who can be the iron that sharpens iron for the young prospects coming up through the system.
Most roster moves are on the horizon, both for the big club as well as the G League affiliate. The free agency countdown is on as this Sunday will begin the whirlwind of rumors. Stay tuned to Bright Side for all of the information as it happens, as well as our opinions on the moves.
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