Jalen Suggs on $150.5 million contract extension, picking Kyrie Irving's brain and more (Exclusive)
The smile widened on Jalen Suggs’ face as he sat along the sidelines toward the end of Orlando Magic’s practice on Wednesday at Intuit Dome.
The reasons seem plentiful.
The Magic (9-6) enter Thursday’s game against the LA Clippers (8-7) with the Eastern Conference’s third-best record. Following three promising seasons as a two-way player, Suggs recently agreed to a five-year, $150.5 million extension. And he has thrived through tough defensive matchups, shooting streaks and Paolo Banchero’s recent injury.
Jalen Suggs interview (Exclusive)
Jalen Suggs spoke about all of those topics and more in a wide-ranging Q&A with Sportskeeda.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.
What does the extension mean to you?
Jalen Suggs: “It was really cool, man. It made me very reflective. Not only the whole negotiation process, but especially afterwards. There is just so many people throughout my lifetime who have poured into me – coaches, family, friends – as big as providing financially and as little as just providing fellowship and love. All of that helped me get to this point where I’m at today. So it really brought all of that into the picture. All the ‘Congrats’ and all the people that were texting me, I thought they all deserved really personal messages. All of them played a role in this, no matter how big or how small.
"Everything impacted my growth with me getting here. So it was really cool looking back on the journey, how far I have come and how far my family has come with the sacrifices they’ve made and now they don’t have to worry about anything. My sisters are straight. My grandparents are straight. I’m able to take care of my family for generations, which is always a goal. It was a really cool moment.”
So you contacted family and friends with different messages?
Jalen Suggs: “Yeah. They all were pouring out and reaching out and giving their congrats and their love. Everybody deserved their own message. It was not a copy-and-paste. Everybody played a role that hit me. It was pretty cool to reconnect full circle and tell everybody how much they meant to me throughout this journey.”
As you reflect on that journey, who are the notable and important influences?
Jalen Suggs: “My father (Larry) and my mother (Mary) are the biggest. Every step of the way they were there for guidance, for lessons, for love, stability. They’ve been there every step of my journey. They’re sacrificing their own time and own dreams and aspirations to pour into me and my sisters. So to be able to retire them so they don’t have to work anymore and don’t have to think about money is really cool. They really meant a lot to me, as well as all of my family.
"My aunt and my uncle have meant a ton to me. They have been like second parents to me. All of the boys that have reached out to me – there’s been a lot of fellowships and laughs. During tough times, they provided smiles and a place for me to go and be myself and get that love elsewhere. I appreciated all of them. There’s really too many people to thank. Brian Sandifer was a huge one for me with the AAU program coming up. A lot of people made this happen.”
What did Brian do for you?
Jalen Suggs: “He started ‘Grassroots.’ He started the AAU program back home and spent many weekends with him on the road and at home. I was playing up in 3rd grade & 4th grade up to the U-17s. He was constantly giving me opportunities and giving me love. He meant a lot to me.”
Even before you signed the extension, you have said the Magic organization molded you after drafting you. In what ways did that shape your growth?
Jalen Suggs: “Tremendously. You go from high school for a great four years at a place that taught me and really prepared me in the next phases of my life academically and spiritually (Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis). Character-wise, it helped grow me into who Jalen Suggs was as a young man. College was really quick. But Coach [Mark] Few at Gonzaga and all of the boys I had there played a role in getting me through a tough year without family. They became my family, even to this day.
"Then you come to Orlando and now this is the place where I’ve been for four years in critical stages of my growth. We’re talking from age 19 to 23. This is the place that I call my home. These are the people that I’ve called my brothers, uncles and OGs. They’re the ones that I’m learning from and creating memories with. This place will always have a special spot in my heart from players, coaches, front office and the fans. There’s ups and downs and good and bad days. I’ve received nothing but love. Every time I walk out the door in Orlando and go out and do anything, I’m receiving love and good energy from the people. So this place has been a blessing, man.”
Did I read correctly that most of your deal is frontloaded with the idea that that can help the organization with roster flexibility down the line?
Jalen Suggs: “Yeah.”
Why was that so important to you?
Jalen Suggs: “Just being here, honestly. I wanted nothing but to be here. I didn’t want to go anywhere else. There were a lot of options on the table and different things you could’ve done and different decisions to be made. But I told Jeff [Weltman], the Magic’s president of basketball operations] that I wanted to be here. There is nowhere else I want to go. And they ended up taking care of me. That’s what he’s always done. That’s what the organization has always done. So that’s the utmost love.
"But also understanding later on down the line that I want to win championships. Once the money is secured and there’s generational wealth, this is something my Dad and I had lots of conversations about how basketball can really change someone’s life, not only for myself, but my current family and my future family that I’m going to create."
Jalen Suggs continued:
"That was really important. But once that’s out the way, that’s something that I’ve been obsessed with my whole life. That’ s something I’ve always loved to do. Understanding whether it’s frontloading or backloading, I didn’t care when it came in. It’s just whatever gives us the best opportunity to continue to grow and continue to become a better team, I was okay with it.”
You’ve had interesting elements to open the season with having more point guard-roles, building off your play, your defense, playing without Paolo, and riding the wave with makes and misses. What’s it like dealing with all of that so far?
Jalen Suggs: “Riding the wave is amazing. I love that you said that. That’s been a big thing for me. I’ve watched ‘Surf’s Up.’ I love that movie. There’s great lessons in that movie. The big one is not fighting the wave. The more you fight the wave, the harder it will be with riding that. That’s something that I’ve been really trying to implement and continue to tell myself daily. That has been a big thing with what this year has been.
"Once the money is out of the way and it’s secured, there’s really a release off my shoulders. All you’re thinking about is nothing but winning. That’s been a really freeing feeling for me. It allows me to come into the games ready to do whatever needs to be done. I already had that mindset. Now it’s just really amplified."
He continued:
"There’s nothing else that can improve the pay that’s coming my way or anything like that. I can just come out and focus on winning games, whether that’s handling in games that I need to handle and create. There are days that I need to score with being aggressive and going to the rack or shooting open ones.
"There are days that AB (Anthony Black) has it going or Franz has it going, I can let them run the offense and I’ll fit in where I fit in and put all of my energy into the defensive end. It's a really dope thing man when you can place everything else and have the mindframe, ‘Just go play basketball.’ That’s the true authenticity of the game. It’s about whatever that needs to be done that night to secure a win, no matter what your personal stats are. It’s almost like it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s really cool.”
Defensively, I looked up your tracking data with some of the notable matchups. (Editor’s note: Suggs limited Tyrese Haliburton (4-for-13), Ja Morant (0-for-6), Devin Booker (0-for-3), Brandon Miller (1-for-5), but Kyrie Irving went 3-for-3 against Suggs). How would you break down the challenges with guarding Kyrie and what you felt you did well against the other guys?
Jalen Suggs: “Man, playing against Kyrie was so dope. It’s always been so dope. But I got to work out with him this summer. I spent some time and had some conversations with him. So then coming back and playing defense on him and guarding him, while he was doing the things that he was teaching me? That was really cool. For Lil’ Jalen, that meant a lot. He's just a great competitor. I love playing against Kyrie. He’s such a great person. He really helped improve me as a defender. But I just think overall going into games, it’s about understanding this end is a part of the game.
"It’s almost overlooked a little bit just with the way that basketball is shifting. It’s a very offensive-heavy, very fast-paced and high-scoring game. Defense kind of gets pushed to the side a bit. So it’s about coming into games and understanding that this is what guys are asking of me, especially with the way that AB has stepped up and is playing so well. The way that Fonz is playing right now, it’s dope. I allow them to play basketball. I continue to be a part of the offense and see things intellectually. But I can come down defensively and give them a little bit of a break and take away the main ball handler and get into our actions. The more they don’t have to do stuff down here and be in actions and I can take away an offensive possession away from the offensive team by myself, the more rest they have and juice they have to go down, get a bucket and be more mentally engaged on that end. It really just is trying to help the boys out any way that I can.”
What gems did Kyrie share with you?
Jalen Suggs: “It was really cool, man. He was talking about patience and cadence. He was talking about getting to spots and finding angles within the game and different lines on the court. It was a really, really dope morning that I spent with Kyrie.”
You said you’re about championships, but do you consider Defensive Player of the Year an individual goal this season?
Jalen Suggs: “Yeah, man. Defense comes naturally, and it’s something that I love to do. So it’s not like I’m working super hard and sacrificing anything. Because with sacrificing my offensive side, we’re winning games and playing great defense. Guys are rolling. Guys are continuing to get opportunities to step up. I know my time will come next. So I’ll continue to play defense and continue to put myself in the conversation because I know how much it helps our team.”
What have you all done to adjust without Paolo?
Jalen Suggs: “Man, that road trip was hard. Losing him on the road trip, knowing how our offense was structured, so much of it was through him because of the problems that he creates. Now you’re in the middle of a road trip. We get three [games] in four nights. You don’t have much time for practice. You’re trying to get your rest as much as you can because you have a back-to-back with Dallas and OKC, two of the better teams in the West. So it was really tough, man. But like I said, we said it in the moment. I said it that week, ‘We’re going to get home after this road trip, and we’re going play at home and this is going to be forgotten. We’re almost going to forget that we even went through this.'
"That came to fruition. We came back home. We adjust and continued to find our rhythm after a tough road stretch. Then we played great basketball for five straight games. Not only were we locking in. We shored up on the defensive end. We also found our rhythm and flow. Without him on the court, there are different advantages that we can get and different places we can take advantage of the defense. We found matchups and used the strengths of everybody on the court. Without Paolo, we used the strengths of AB, Franz, myself, Goga [Bitadze], everybody that steps on the court. We’re playing quick, fun basketball. It’s produced six wins in a row. So it’s really been great. I love how together we’ve stayed."
How has Franz taken his game to another level?
Jalen Suggs: “Special. He’s been special since the day that we got drafted together. It’s really cool. He’s so intellectual, a bit calmer and I’m a bit crazier. I’m unpredictable. So it’s really cool. I get to learn from somebody that is a bit of my opposite. We share a lot of the same core values in terms of character, love and competitiveness. We can grow and bounce off of each other. It’s been amazing to see him grow and see him be aggressive with really picking apart the game both physically and mentally.”
You challenged Cleveland last season to seven games in the first round. What do you take away from both what you did well and where you came up short?
Jalen Suggs: “It was really cool. For as hard as that moment was and as for as much as it hurt walking back into the locker room and seeing tears in guys’ eyes and having tears in my own eyes, we were frustrated and confused. Now really quickly, we grow from we’re in control of the game to that we’re out of the playoffs and the season is over. You try to grasp where we went wrong, and where could I have been better. In the moment, it’s very hard. But one thing we all shared was a hunger.
"Everybody believed in the locker room and was hungry to get to the offseason to get better and learn from this moment and reflect on everything that was taken away from this playoff series and understand that we have a chance to get back next season. We don’t want to end a season prematurely under the control of somebody else. We want to be the ones ending our season. The only way we can do that is to win a championship. I thought we gained so much from that."
He added:
"Even though we lost in the first round, you go to Game 7 and take everything that a playoff game has to offer. We’re playing games on the road and playing close games. We’re trying to close out and put away blowouts. We really are just trying to get and understand the flow and intensity and the details are in the playoffs.
"I think we took it all very well. We came back. We saw it even in our minicamp that we had [in Newport Beach, Calif.], the way everybody came in prepared, hungry and competitive. But we were ready to see each other again. I think that’s the best part. You see it right now. We’re flowing. We’re happy. We love to be around each other. It’s leading to new things.”
Health aside, what else do you think will determine whether you all can prevail out of a crowded Eastern Conference?
Jalen Suggs: “Our consistency and playing to our standard. Keeping the standard, no matter who is on the court for our team or for our opposing team. Coming in every night, going to work and accomplishing what we’re walking in every night to do. That’s to win a game. We have to play to our standard and do the things we talked about in training camp.
"[Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] has reiterated it a ton. Having him on the squad has been amazing. He’s talked about how important it is to come in and play good basketball, finish games and close teams out when you have the opportunity. That’s what separates the good from the great. Great teams instill that fear that the game is never over as long as there is still time on the clock. I think that’s a piece and step we can take as a team."
He continued:
"This is one of the best group of guys that I’ve been around in my lifetime. I’ve been around great teams. I haven’t swayed much from any of my programs. So coming here and going to work every day with everyone on this roster, it really fills your soul. It fills up your heart with happiness. It makes work like pleasure. That’s what makes us special.
"We truly care about each other. There is real love in the building. In professional settings where money is involved, everybody’s individual growth is a priority for them. But to also come in here and have the love and generosity, everybody wants each other to get better. We have moments of jubilation, celebration and growth. That’s something that I truly cherish this place brings. I’m excited to make this run and hopefully play into May and June this year.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.