Peter Jok gets NBA camp invite with Phoenix Suns

Former Iowa guard Peter Jok gained some clarity on his professional plans Monday night when he agreed to a partially guaranteed contract with the Phoenix Suns.

He chose the Suns over three other offers, guardian Mike Nixon told the Register.

The contract means Jok will be one of 20 players invited to the Suns' training camp in late September. He plans to head to Phoenix next week, when he will officially sign the deal.

"I feel like it's a great opportunity for myself because it puts me in a position to earn a spot on the team," Jok told the Register via text message Tuesday. "And if I don't, then I'll be playing for their G League team to work on my game, which I see as a positive."

The Suns' G League (formerly D League) team is the Northern Arizona Suns in Prescott Valley, Ariz. If he doesn't make the Suns' NBA roster or sign a two-way deal, Jok would remain a free agent and could be called up by any NBA team while playing in the G League.

It's a similar starting point that former Hawkeye Jarrod Uthoff had last year. Uthoff signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Toronto Raptors worth $50,000, then eventually landed on the Dallas Mavericks' NBA roster for the final month of the regular season.

After going undrafted in June, Jok signed with the New Orleans Pelicans, but played in just three of their six summer-league games in Las Vegas and averaged 9.0 points and shot 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range.