Mikal Bridges Agrees to 4-Year, $90 Million Rookie Contract Extension with Suns
Phoenix Suns wing Mikal Bridges has reportedly agreed to a fully guaranteed four-year, $90 million contract extension with the team, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski:
The 25-year-old averaged 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals for the Suns last season, shooting 42.5 percent from three. He started all 72 regular-season games for Phoenix.
Bridges also played well in the postseason, averaging 11.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 22 games, though his three-point shooting (36.8 percent) veered closer to his career average (37.6 percent).
The 10th overall pick in the 2018 draft has emerged as a key pillar for the Suns, giving them a much-coveted three-and-D wing every team wants in the modern NBA. His continued development played a big part in the Suns reaching the NBA Finals last season, as he complemented the talented core of Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton.
The Suns have built a solid group of role players behind the team's stars, led by Bridges, Cameron Payne, Jae Crowder, Cameron Johnson, Landry Shamet and Dario Saric (who's recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Game 1 of the NBA Finals).
Bridges made it clear he wanted to be with the Suns for the long term.
"I just want to be here, man. That's what the whole thing is. I just want to be here. The deadline's close, so we'll see and wait," he told reporters Friday before Monday's deadline for rookie extensions to take effect next year.
The next question for the Suns is whether they'll be able to agree on a rookie extension with Ayton, the top overall draft pick in 2018, before Monday.
"We want to be here. It's plain and simple, man," Bridges said of both himself and Ayton. "We love this team. We love this organization and what it's done for us, especially what it's done for both of us. You know, I'd never take this for granted, man. They just turned me into a better person and player. So, obviously, we want to be here more than anything."
