Grade the deal: Suns agree to re-sign Bol Bol to 1-year deal

Not long after agreeing to re-sign Royce O’Neale to a four-year, $44 million deal, the Phoenix Suns took care of another one of their free agents in Bol Bol. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Suns have agreed to re-sign Bol to a one-year deal.

As an unrestricted free agent, Bol Bol was always going to be the tricky one to keep. The Suns definitely wanted to re-sign him, as PHNX Sports had reported, but they were limited in what they could offer him from a financial standpoint.

Using Bol’s non-Bird rights, Phoenix could only offer up to 120 percent of his 2023-24 salary for the upcoming season (which would amount to approximately $2.4 million) or up to 120 percent of the league’s minimum salary (which would be approximately $2.9 million). An outside team willing to take a flier on the 24-year-old could have easily surpassed that amount, but Phoenix was able to keep their promising 7-footer in the Valley.

The Suns were hopeful to retain at least two of that O’Neale-Bol-Josh Okogie trio, with all three coming back in a best-case scenario. Looking at the broader market, their biggest need is now “adding a point guard, maybe even two,” according to a source.

Bol Bol returns to Suns

Although Bol only averaged 5.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 10.9 minutes per game last season, he started building momentum in the second half of the season. Once he started getting regular minutes, he earned his spot in the rotation.

That didn’t hold up in the postseason, but given that it was the first time in Bol’s young NBA career where he showed such promise on a playoff team, a reunion made sense for both sides. There’s the obvious appeal on Bol’s end of continuing to play alongside his favorite player growing up in Kevin Durant.

“He’s helping me a lot, even when he doesn’t know,” Bol had said. “Just me watching him, and there’s been times we’ve played one-on-one, it’s just been pretty cool, especially [since] that’s my favorite player growing up.”

In addition to that, Bol also put together an impressive second half of the season. Despite an injury that temporarily disrupted his late-season emergence and an inconsistent role under former coach Frank Vogel, Bol showed flashes of being a competent impact player off the bench. On the season, Phoenix went 18-6 when Bol played double-digit minutes, and in those 24 games, he averaged 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 15.9 minutes per game on 64.1 percent shooting, including 51.2 percent from 3.

He also shot a staggering 84.2 percent at the rim on the season, was a terror in transition and displayed some ball-handling ability. Bol simplified his game under Vogel and assistant David Fizdale, and the results were promising enough to warrant bringing him back.

He was also a fan favorite, with Jusuf Nurkic describing him as a “magnet” for the home crowd whenever he’d make unexpected plays with the ball in his hands, finish off dunks or block shots at the rim. That alone isn’t enough of a reason to bring a player back, but the “Bol Bol effect” on home fans — as well as his own teammates — was undeniable.

“I just love everything about Bol, and you can tell that everybody loves Bol or are rooting for him, even the crowd,” Kevin Durant said. “Every arena we go to, they’re rooting for Bol….He’s just a great soul, man. I like being around him.”

It remains to be seen how new coach Mike Budenholzer will plan on using Bol. He was more effective as a 4 last year, hitting down 3s at a terrific rate and attacking closeouts on the perimeter when he saw driving lanes. The Suns currently only have Jusuf Nurkic and Oso Ighodaro at the 5-spot, and it remains to be seen whether Phoenix will target another center in free agency.

Whether he’s at the 4 or the 5, Bol showed enough flashes of being a sustainable role player that the Suns wanted to bring him back, and were able to do so despite being constrained in what they could offer him. That makes this a win in and of itself, providing more size, length, upside and finishing ability as the attempt to tap further into his potential.

Grade: B+