The NBA’s Phoenix Suns signed guard/swing forward Grayson Allen to a four-year, $70 million extension Monday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
Allen, who starred as a three-year starter at Duke University, earned the extension in his first year in Phoenix admid what turned out to be his best pro season yet.
Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen has agreed on a four-year $70 million contract extension with a player option, Mitch Nathan, Aaron Mintz and Steven Heumann of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/RWX8VVsxGR
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 15, 2024
The deal is a sign of impressive growth from the 28-year-old. The Utah Jazz selected him at the end of the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft, but used him sparingly and often shuffled him back and forth between the pro team and their development side in the G-League.
In 2019, the Memphis Grizzlies acquired him in a trade for star guard Mike Conley and, after initially only seeing 18 minutes per game in his first season there, he somewhat broke out in the 2020-21 season where he saw over 25 minutes per game. (RELATED: Grayson Allen’s College Career Will Forever Be Legendary)
He was traded twice more in his career, first to the Milwaukee Bucks where he became a consistent starter for a top-tier playoff contender.
Prior to the 2023-2024 season, Milwaukee shipped him to Phoenix where he broke out even further en route to his best season yet. He averaged career highs in minutes, points, rebounds and assists while leading the league in three point percentage with .461 percent.
Now, I personally hate Grayson Allen the player. I’ve never been a fan of the Blue Devils and his cocky smirk will always rub me the wrong way. But, I’m a sucker for self-improvement and I have to laud him for becoming such an integral piece of a playoff contender. The percentage of guys who earn big money in the NBA after being shuttled to G-League squads as often as Allen was his rookie year is exceedingly low. Hats off to him for persevering.