Baylor’s Jalen Bridges agrees to 2-way contract with Suns

Baylor wing Jalen Bridges signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns, the team announced on Thursday.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported the deal on June 27 shortly after the 2024 NBA Draft concluded. A video showing Bridges announcing the news to his family followed the report.

BREAKING NEWS:

Baylor’s Jalen Bridges has announced that he will sign a 2-way contract with the Phoenix Suns.

The 6’9 forward played at Fairmont Senior High School and graduated in 2019.

Proud of you JB! #WVPrepBB #304Made 🏀 pic.twitter.com/EPahokoH1C

— Olly Reed Sports (@OllyReedSports) June 27, 2024

In his final season at West Virginia, Bridges averaged 12.2 points on 46.6% shooting and 41.2% from three-point range. He chipped in 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Four years of Power Five ball split between West Virginia (2020-22) and Baylor (2022-24) give the 6-foot-7, 213-pound forward loads of experience. He fits the Cam Johnson mold of a bigger wing-sized shooter, though there was variance in his career: he shot below 33% his sophomore and junior seasons and above 40% his freshman and senior years.

Bridges was a sneaky solid finisher at the rim and can contribute on the rebounding front, make the right pass and defend.

His ceiling is not exactly high beyond the shooting becoming elite, and the floor gets pretty low if his senior year shooting splits tank back to those sophomore and junior levels.

Let’s get to work🙏🏽🫡 https://t.co/msrnucqzy2

— bizzle (@jalenbridges_) July 4, 2024

What did the Suns do in the 2024 NBA Draft?

The Suns in the first round of the draft dealt the 22nd pick to acquire four picks from the Nuggets, moving down to 28th in the first round and then 56th in the second while also acquiring two future seconds in 2026 and 2031.

Phoenix then drafted Virginia forward Ryan Dunn with the 28th overall pick, a team-first player with offensive limitations at his position.

The Suns followed that up with a Day 2 trade that shipped the No. 56 pick as well as the No. 51 pick to move up to 40th overall. Phoenix traded a 2028 second-round pick that was originally a Boston pick to acquire No. 51 from New York, then packaged it back to the Knicks with No. 56 for the 40th selection.

They used that pick on Marquette big man and Phoenix Desert Vista High School product Oso Ighodaro.

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