Suns sign MJ Walker to 10-Day Hardship Contract

Friday morning, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Phoenix Suns signed the former Florida State Seminole to a 10-day hardship contract in the wake of the ongoing COVID outbreak within the organization, which now includes Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Abdel Nader, Elfrid Payton, and head coach Monty Williams.

In four years at Florida State, Walker accumulated nearly 3,000 minutes over 120 games (82 starts). He eclipsed over 1,000 career points and nearly 200 assists from the combo guard / wing position under heralded coach Leonard Hamilton. In his senior season as the primary offensive option, Walker averaged 12.2 points in 29.0 minutes and shot 42.3% from deep on 4.3 attempts per game.

In his first G-League season with the Westchester Knicks after going undrafted, Walker is averaging 10.4 points in 29.4 minutes with 41.1% from deep on 4.3 attempts. He’s had two games with at least 20 points — 22 points in his debut on Nov. 5 and 23 points on Dec. 17.

I can’t imagine Walker will end up getting more than a few minutes per game at most during his stint, but the league requires extra players are added when this many players are in protocol, so he’ll add depth in the meantime.