The Phoenix Suns have officially agreed to terms on a contract with former Magic forward/center Bol Bol for a one-year guaranteed deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Suns will also be trading a 2026 first-round pick swap in exchange for three future second-round picks from the Magic.
In a subsequent move to free up a roster spot and save money, the Suns also traded Cameron Payne and a future second-round pick to the Spurs for a future second, according to Wojnarowski.
The Suns now will go with newly-acquired guard Jordan Goodwin as their backup point.
The ESPN story on the moves outlines that: “By moving on from Payne, the Suns save a projected $26.4 million in luxury taxes for next season, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, while also creating a $6.5 million trade exception.”
After being waived by the Magic on July 4, Bol Bol has been rumored to come to the Suns for almost two weeks now. Now, the time has finally come. When he officially signs with the team, the Suns will have 11 minimum contracts behind their four star players.
From our previous article on Bol:
The 7-foot-2, 220-pound son of 7-foot-6 NBA legend Manute Bol has been an intriguing prospect dating all the way back to high school.
After an injury-riddled freshman season at Oregon, Bol was selected by Miami with the 44th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He played his first three seasons with Denver, only appearing in 53 games and averaging under 10 minutes in that time for the Nuggets.
Bol had a much better year in his first and only season with the Magic, as he played in 70 games, starting 33 of them. He averaged 9.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.2 BPG and 0.4 SPG on 55/27/76 splits in 21.5 minutes per game for the year.
Bol now has a lengthy shooter in Kevin Durant to mentor him and help him improve his shooting. He has only shot 29.3% for three-point range in his career, but has converted on 61.5% of his two-point attempts.
Bol could also develop into a nice rim-protector off the bench behind Ayton. He could have the chance to play his way ahead of recently-signed center Drew Eubanks. However, he would also have to compete for minutes with Chimezie Metu. If Bol’s shooting improved, the Suns could play him at the four as well.
Bol does come with a lot of question marks, however. The Suns now take a risk having a raw prospect on their roster in a season where they’re trying to win a championship.
Bol becomes the Suns’ 15th player on their roster with the trade of Payne.
See all the Suns free agent signings here:
More must-reads: