Jaden Bradley gets four-year commitment from Raptors. Image via: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
The Toronto Raptors converted the 23-year-old guard’s two-way contract into a standard deal worth $9.3 million on Monday, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, with the first season fully guaranteed. Jaden Bradley just turned a training camp battle into a four-year paycheck.
Across five games, the Rochester, New York native averaged 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in just over 20 minutes a night, topping out at 15 points and five boards in a July 13 win over Indiana. By his senior year with the Wildcats, he was Big 12 Player of the Year, averaging 13.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 39.4 percent from three. He picked up Big 12 Tournament MVP and consensus Third Team All-American honors along the way and helped drag Arizona to its first Final Four in 25 years. Bradley will spend training camp, which opens September 29 in Quebec City, competing for backup point guard reps behind Immanuel Quickley, with fellow Big 12 products Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter already in that mix.
Scotto’s report on the new deal noted that “this first year of the deal is guaranteed,” a detail that matters for a player who came in as one of the draft’s final names. He didn’t dominate Summer League so much as show some unforgettable moments. Bradley spent his final three college seasons at Arizona after starting his career at Alabama, where he made the All-SEC freshman team. None of that guarantees playing time in Toronto. It’s a crowded lane for a player who was a fringe draft name three months ago. Toronto didn’t leave its two-way roster thin in the process. The team filled Bradley’s old two-way slot with former Gonzaga guard Malachi Smith, keeping that development pipeline active even as Bradley graduates to the standard roster. For now, the deal looks like an investment rather than a promise for playing minutes. The Raptors are betting that the ball-handling, defense, and playmaking instincts that carried Arizona to a Final Four run translate better once an NBA season actually starts. Bradley gets four years and a guaranteed first season to prove it.