The Phoenix Suns have signed guard Jerel McNeal to a 10-day contract.
McNeal, whose first name is pronounced Jah-rell, has averaged 18.5 points, 4.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 27 games with the Bakersfield Jam this season. The 6-3 guard scored a season-high 40 points on 16-of-23 shooting for the Suns’ NBA Development League affiliate on March 7 at Austin.
A two-time NBA D-League All-Star, this is McNeal’s third career NBA regular season signing though he has yet to appear in an NBA game. The 27-year-old previously spent 10 days with the New Orleans Hornets from March 9-19, 2011, and ended the season with the Utah Jazz from March 27-April 17, 2013. Currently in his fourth career D-League season with Bakersfield (2012-15) and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2010-11), McNeal is the 55th GATORADE Call-Up from the D-League to the NBA this season.
Undrafted out of Marquette University in 2009, McNeal has participated in NBA training camps with the Los Angeles Clippers (2009), Houston Rockets (2010) and Toronto Raptors (2012) and has also played professionally in Belgium, Italy and China. McNeal played four seasons at Marquette (2005-09) where he remains the Golden Eagles’ all-time leading scorer (1,985 career points) and earned Associated Press All-America Second Team honors as a senior in 2008-09.
The Suns play at the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will be televised nationally on TNT and carried on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Guard A.J. Price’s 10-day contract expired and the Suns’ roster stands at 15.