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Jimmer Fredette reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported the deal’s second season is a team option and it will become official once the guard receives clearance to leave China’s Shanghai Sharks.
Fredette, 30, appeared in just six NBA games in the 2015-16 season between the New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks, averaging 1.5 points per game. For his NBA career, he’s averaged 6.0 points and 1.4 assists, bouncing around the league in stints with the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, Pelicans and Knicks.
In June 2017, he made his way to the Denver Nuggets‘ summer league team. He spent the past two seasons playing for the Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association, and he averaged 36.9 points in 2017-18.
Despite being the No. 10 overall pick by Milwaukee in the 2011 draft—the Bucks immediately traded him to the Kings in a three-team deal—Fredette has never lived up to the potential he flashed during his BYU days.
He was the 2011 Associated Press Player of the Year and won the Naismith Award and Wooden Award in his senior season, averaging 28.9 points per game while shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc.
His ability to shoot from range did translate to the NBA, where he’s hit 38.1 percent of his three-point attempts. But while Fredette can occasionally create his own shot, he’s not much more than a catch-and-shoot player. His lack of athleticism and poor defense plagued him during his NBA career.
So for the Suns, Fredette is likely being brought aboard to provide shooting off the bench, but unless he really impresses, it’s unlikely he will earn more than a few minutes per game.
He has the chance to resurrect what has been a disappointing career in Phoenix, but his signing is likely to fill a specific role and won’t offer him major minutes despite the team’s 17-55 record.
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