The Valley Suns, the brand new G-League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, have acquired the rights to Kaleb Johnson in a commerce with the Austin Spurs, the workforce introduced Thursday.
The Suns have traded the rights to ahead Justin Smith.
Johnson is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound level guard who spent the final 4 seasons with Austin within the G League. He has but to make his NBA debut.
His youthful brother, Keldon Johnson, spent the final 5 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and gained a gold medal on the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Final season, Kaleb Johnson performed 39 video games between common season and showcase appearances, with a median of 8.1 factors per sport at 62.5% taking pictures success, though he did not make a single three-point shot. The left-handed shooter made 53.7% of his free throws.
The 27-year-old additionally added 0.7 assists and three.0 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per sport.
Johnson performed faculty soccer at Georgetown, spending 4 seasons with the Hoyas earlier than going undrafted.
The Suns drafted Smith within the 2024-25 G-League Growth Draft from the Delaware Blue Coats.
Who’re the Valley Suns?
The Phoenix Suns launched their G-League affiliate in Could and can play their dwelling video games at Arizona State’s Mullett Area. Their first dwelling sport might be Nov. 11 in opposition to the Stockton Kings.
The G League schedule is split into two elements: the 16-game kickoff match and a 34-game common season.
The Valley Suns have employed John Little, a former assistant coach with Boston’s G League affiliate, as their head coach. Amongst their enlargement recruits had been former prime 10 NBA Draft picks Jahlil Okafor and Emmanuel Mudiay.
Having a participant’s rights does not essentially imply he’ll play for the Suns’ G League workforce, as they may contemplate skilled leagues in different international locations.
