The Utah Jazz have reached an agreement to sign veteran forward Paris Bass, according to a report form Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.
Bass, a 6-foot-8, 200-pounder who will turn 27 years old later this month, will sign a one-year deal, agent Daniel Hazan told Haynes.
The Detroit Mercy product has appeared in just two regular-season NBA games in his professional career, logging six points, four rebounds, a steal, two turnovers, and two fouls in seven minutes for the Phoenix Suns this past season.
The well-traveled small forward is a Birmingham, Mich., native. After a standout prep career at Seaholm High School in Michigan, Bass became a three-star prospect and committed to Detroit Mercy. As a redshirt freshman, he was the Horizon League Freshman of the Year. After being suspended for the first eight games of his sophomore season, Bass then averaged 18.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, earning First-team All-Horizon League honors.
However, at the end of the season, he was removed from the program, apparently due to academic issues.
In July 2016, Bass agreed to join the Traiskirchen Lions of the Austrian Basketball Bundesliga, but never wound up playing for the team. In February 2017, he signed with the Erie BayHawks of the G League, where he averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 15 games.
In 2018, he played for three teams in the Dominican Republic and one in Taiwan. Between 2019 and the first half of 2021, he bounced between teams in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Colombia.
In October 2021, Bass got another G League tryout, and wound up signing with the South Bay Lakers, with whom he would make the All-Showcase Team. In 14 games for the South Bay Lakers, he averaged 17.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 48.7% from the field, 33.9% on 3-pointers (4.0 attempts per game), and 78.6% on free throws.
Due to this past season’s myriad COVID-19 issues in the NBA, he signed a 10-day contract with the Suns via the hardship exception on Dec. 31, and signed a second 10-day on Jan. 12.
He re-joined the South Bay Lakers later that month, and was part of the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league team last month.
