Former Miami guard Peter Suder signs two-way deal with Los Angeles Lakers
After going undrafted, the RedHawk guard lands with the Lakers, where his shooting and basketball IQ could earn him an NBA role.
Late Wednesday night, former Miami guard Peter Suder signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as an undrafted free agent.
The deal, first reported by Michael Scotto, is a two-way contract. This style of contract allows a player to split time between the NBA team and its G League affiliate, in this case the recently relocated Coachella Valley Lakers.
After sliding past the second round, Suder’s next chapter takes him to Los Angeles, where he’ll play alongside Luka Dončić and LeBron James. The Lakers were one of several NBA teams that worked Suder out before the draft, signing him just hours after its conclusion.
He joins Baylor’s Cameron Carr and Vanderbilt’s AK Okereke as the newest additions to the purple and gold, taking one of the team’s three two-way contract slots.
As a senior, Suder averaged 14.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting a lethal 42 percent from beyond the arc, leading Miami to an unbeaten MAC regular season. The 22-year-old possesses positive positional size, a high basketball IQ, and is a better defender than his athletic profile may suggest.
He averaged 1.8 stocks per game and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
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Those traits made Suder one of the more intriguing under-the-radar prospects in this year’s draft class. After transferring from Bellarmine ahead of his junior season, he blossomed under head coach Travis Steele, becoming the connective piece that powered Miami’s historic run to an undefeated conference season and its first AP Top 25 ranking since 1999.
NBA evaluators were drawn to the same qualities that made him indispensable in Oxford. Suder isn’t an overwhelming athlete, but he compensates with exceptional feel for the game. At 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, he processes the floor quickly on both ends, thriving as a “pass-dribble-shoot” guard who can keep an offense flowing without dominating the ball. He posted a 22 percent assist rate against just a 14% turnover rate during his senior season, routinely creating advantages with smart decisions rather than explosive athleticism.
Ultimately, Suder’s NBA outlook hinges on one skill: his jump shot. After shooting below expectations early in his collegiate career, he transformed himself into one of the nation’s most efficient perimeter shooters, knocking down 42% of his three-point attempts as a senior and 44 percent of his catch-and-shoot opportunities. That dramatic improvement, coupled with his defensive instincts and positional versatility, earned him an NBA Combine invitation and workouts with multiple franchises before ultimately landing with the Lakers.
Los Angeles is betting that Suder’s combination of basketball IQ, floor spacing and winning habits can translate to the next level. Those are the same qualities that helped transform Miami from a solid mid-major into one of college basketball’s biggest stories.
His shooting and steady offensive presence also address a major need for the Lakers, who shot just 32 percent from three as a team last season. If his jumper translates against NBA competition, Suder has a legitimate chance to carve out a role as a connective guard who can space the floor, move the ball and defend multiple backcourt positions.
Summer League will give Suder his first opportunity to prove his game translates to the professional level. With more on-ball freedom than he’s likely to have during the regular season, he’ll have the chance to showcase the playmaking, shooting and basketball IQ that made him one of the driving forces behind Miami’s historic season.
