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What to make of Suns’ double-down on centers Khaman Maluach and Mark Williams in 2025 NBA Draft

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Here's a look at the pros and cons of the Phoenix Suns adding Khaman Maluach and Mark Williams on Night 1 of the 2025 NBA Draft

Mere minutes after it became apparent that Khaman Maluach would be available for the Phoenix Suns at No. 10 in the 2025 NBA Draft, ESPN’s Shams Charania dropped an unexpected ShamsBomb: The Suns were also trading for center Mark Williams.

After spending an entire season cycling through Jusuf Nurkic, Mason Plumlee, rookie Oso Ighodaro and then Nick Richards at the 5, Phoenix upgraded its center rotation in a matter of minutes Wednesday night — all while getting younger and more athletic.

But with four centers under the Suns’ employ and the rapid 1-2 punch that general manager Brian Gregory landed on night one of the draft, it’s understandable to wonder what the vision is in Phoenix, exactly. Bearing all that in mind, let’s take a look the pros and cons of drafting Khaman Maluach at No. 10, trading for Mark Williams, and what to expect from the Suns moving forward.

Drafting Khaman Maluach

When you’re a team whose recent decisions have lost the benefit of the doubt from the public, almost every new decision will be met with ridicule rather than thoughtful evaluation. That was the case here, as the “What is Phoenix doing adding two centers in 30 seconds?” tweets flooded the timeline.

In fairness, there’s plenty of reason to be skeptical. The Suns’ roster is almost entirely comprised of shooting guards and centers now, and much like the underwhelming Kevin Durant trade, the drafting of Khaman Maluach, followed immediately by the Mark Williams trade, will require a subsequent move to justify the prior one.

In other words, there’s still work to be done, because right now, it’s hard to see how all these puzzle pieces fit together. That’s not the end of the world though, since Phoenix still has the second round of the draft, trade market and free agency to help smooth some of the roster’s jagged edges of this.

But where others see confusion or overkill in trying to address the center position, it shouldn’t be hard to make out some of the underlying reasons behind these moves, even in conjunction with each other.

Let’s start with the draft itself. Maluach at No. 10 was an absolute steal, and Brian Gregory confirmed via Zoom after the first round that Phoenix wasn’t expecting him to be available at that point.

“We had targeted him, we thought if he was at 10, that was someone that we would take in immediately,” Gregory said. “I told Mat [Ishbia] this morning, I don’t think he’s gonna be there. And then just through our constant calls and different things like that, it started trending that way.”

This does not necessarily mean the Suns had agreed to a Mark Williams trade and could no longer back out once Maluach was still on the board at No. 10, as many have inferred from Charania’s draft night report; it just means exactly what Gregory and Charania both said: The Suns were not expecting Maluach to fall to them.

Reporting live from the 2025 NBA draft on the Phoenix Suns landing two centers within minutes to address center issues: pic.twitter.com/PkQiPQjAC5

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2025

Because the Suns agreed to acquire the 10th overall pick in Sunday’s KD trade, and because it was such an unexpected outcome, Phoenix didn’t have a chance to get Maluach in the building for a pre-draft workout. But their revamped scouting department had done their homework in advance, watching him in person no less than eight times, digging into the film with coach Jordan Ott, and doing their due diligence by checking in with those who knew Maluach well.

That included coach Jon Scheyer, whom Gregory called the day before the draft.

“I talked to coach Scheyer yesterday, had a long talk with him, just as some follow-up intel, and everything was off the chart,” Gregory said. “His work ethic, his ability to be coached, his desire to become the very best fits in exactly what we’re looking to build here in Phoenix.”

As PHNX Sports reported on Sunday, the Suns were looking to address their need for size — either at center or forward — in the draft. They did exactly that with Khaman Maluach, who was a no-brainer, home run pick when he fell to 10th overall. At 7-foot-2, with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, this Duke product is one of the better rim presences in this year’s draft class on both ends of the floor.

“To come away with a young talent like him, comes from a great program, well-coached at Duke, very versatile,” Gregory raved. “Last year we were I think 27th in rim protection, so he brings a great defensive presence for us. We were also, I think, last in the league in our effectiveness around the rim and our ability to score at the rim, and he’s definitely proven himself in one year of college of being able to do that. We constantly want to keep getting longer, more athletic, be able to play faster, defend better, and he definitely checks all those boxes.”

This season for the Blue Devils, Maluach’s 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game hardly leapt off the page. But he was one of the most imposing rim deterrents in all of college basketball, utilizing his ridiculous length and impressive footwork to discourage drivers from testing him. That may be the biggest reason his block numbers rated surprisingly low: Maluach is a presence in the paint.

According to The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, opponents shot 45.3 percent at the rim against Maluach last year. He improved in drop coverage as the year went on, got some experience with hard hedging, and fared well on switches because of his lateral quickness and all-encompassing limbs.

“The versatility on defense is already there,” Gregory said. “He can switch, obviously guard on the perimeter, all those things, which, if you’ve watched the last eight weeks of the NBA Playoffs and so forth is so critical to have versatility on the defensive end as well.”

Offensively, while Maluach is currently a bit more limited, he does the one thing that Nurkic and Plumlee struggled with all season: He finishes around the basket. Aside from shooting 71.2 percent from the field, Maluach converted a ridiculous 80.6 percent of his shots at the rim and 88.9 percent of his dunks. He had 80 dunks in just 39 games, and while he’s not an explosive leaper, he doesn’t have to be, thanks to his Groot-like arms.

If the Suns were going to use a top-10 pick on a center, they needed it to be someone with massive measurements, great rim protection and the ability to finish around the basket at a high clip. They got all three of those baseline requirements by landing Khaman Maluach, and his ability to check all those boxes is the reason he was the top choice on our list of prospects for Phoenix at No. 10.

Beyond the court, though, there’s an underrated reason this was such a great pick: Khaman Maluach is, by all accounts, a sensational human being who’s easy to cheer for. That matters to a fanbase that’s turned on management after the aggressive moves for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal failed so spectacularly, especially since last year’s disappointing team was one of the hardest to root for.

It starts with Maluach’s backstory. He grew up in Uganda after his family fled his home in conflict-ridden South Sudan, and he didn’t pick up a basketball until he was 14 years old, after a motorcycle cab driver stopped him walking down the street and said, “You’re so tall. You should start playing basketball.” He was eventually discovered by the NBA Africa Academy in 2021, attended Duke, and quickly became a fan favorite for his on-court game and his off-court earnestness.

Just look at his bond with teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, or how Flagg reacted to seeing Maluach get drafted, and try telling anyone he won’t be an immediate fan favorite in Phoenix.

Throughout the pre-draft process, Maluach got rave reviews for his coachable attitude and personable interviews, and watching ESPN’s draft coverage, it was easy to see why.

Upon hearing his name called, Maluach’s photo with commissioner Adam Silver, with tears of emotion still streaming down his face, became an instant classic that melted the hearts of anyone watching — even North Carolina Tar Heel fans!

Before the draft, Maluach was asked about his journey and how much it meant to him to be able to inspire kids back home in Africa to pursue their dreams. The 18-year-old responded with an incredible line: “Sometimes it’s okay to be delusional about your dreams and they end up happening.”

When he was asked about that delusion, just moments after being drafted, it was impossible not to feel something when he answered with such raw emotion about holding the continent on his back:

“Through my years of coaching, I’ve been very fortunate to have multiple players from Sudan on our team, and they’ve all had different journeys,” Gregory said. “You just know that there’s a daily passion for being successful and working hard, and there’s a humility that comes that I think is one of the reasons he’s such a special person outside of basketball.”

It’s a little thing that not every Suns fan will care about. But fan favorites were glaringly absent from last year’s team outside of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, and there’s no question that Maluach’s genuine personality is going to make this retooling Suns squad a lot more likable than they’ve been since the not-so-distant glory days. The culture is changing in Phoenix, and that matters.

khaman maluach’s reaction to being drafted is what the sport is all about

— jeff (@DedicationHoops) June 26, 2025

Trading for Mark Williams

Of course, plenty of Suns fans probably missed Khaman Maluach’s post-draft interviews, since everyone was scrambling to find out why Phoenix had just traded for Mark Williams and what they gave up. Let’s point out all the negatives first.

On paper, giving up two first-round picks for an injury-prone center sounds like a lot. After all, in his first three NBA seasons, Williams has only played in 43, 19 and 44 games.

Williams is eligible for a rookie-scale extension this offseason, and if he doesn’t get one, he’ll become a restricted free agent. Between the No. 29 pick in this year’s draft, plus a 2029 first-round pick, Phoenix probably surrendered too much to simply let him walk after one season in the Valley. The longer-term commitment that follows could determine the severity of this decision.

On the financial and trade asset side, this deal decreases flexibility. Vasa Micic had an $8.1 million team option, and declining it — along with waiving Cody Martin’s non-guaranteed salary — could’ve helped Phoenix get closer to ducking that bothersome second tax apron. Instead, the Suns guaranteed Micic’s salary so they could trade him to the Charlotte Hornets for salary-matching purposes. Mark Williams only makes $6.3 million this season, but that’s $6.3 million more in salary than Phoenix would’ve had on its books by declining Micic’s team option.

According to NBA cap expert Keith Smith, the Suns are now $14.8 million over the second tax apron with three roster spots to fill.

The Suns are also out of tradable first-round picks. They used No. 10 and traded No. 29 away this year, and they’ll owe their 2026 first-rounder to another team as a product of all those pick swaps. That means they can’t trade the extra 2027 first-round pick they acquired (the least favorable between the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers) due to the Stepien Rule, which forbids teams from offering up consecutive future firsts in trades.

The Suns’ 2028 pick swap could’ve be on the table, but they just offered up that 2029 first-round pick for Williams, and their own first-rounder that year is going to either Houston or Brooklyn. That means the Stepien Rule puts 2028 out of play. Similarly, 2030 is a pick swap, but the Suns owe their 2031 first-rounder to Utah, so 2030 is off limits too.

The Phoenix Suns currently project with a $421 million roster.

They made it a lot harder to get below the second apron by trading their last tradeable first and a player in Vasilije Micic whose team option they could've declined for substantial savings. pic.twitter.com/Xfds9xJbQt

— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) June 26, 2025

And then there’s the obvious question about what has to give in this center rotation. Plumlee was always heading elsewhere in free agency, but the undersized Ighodaro’s path to minutes is blocked once again. Nick Richards isn’t a starting-caliber big, but he’s on a team-friendly deal and could be a useful backup.

Richards’ $5 million non-guaranteed salary isn’t a significant hurdle to clear, but does this mean he’s a goner? Does he have any trade value, or does he just get waived outright? Or do the Suns keep him as a stopgap if they don’t think Maluach is ready for those backup minutes in Year 1? And even if Richards is gone, Maluach’s path to ample playing time is now somewhat blocked by Williams’ arrival.

Phoenix needed a center, but trading for Mark Williams (who needs extended) and drafting Khama Maluach feels like a little much. Nick Richards is still there too. And of course my guy OSO!!! Igohdaro.

Good depth, but the Suns are all centers and shooting guards.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 26, 2025

But there are holes that can be poked in a lot of these gripes. First, those “two first-round picks” aren’t exactly normal first-round picks. One is the second-to-last pick in this year’s top-heavy draft-class at No. 29, which was used on Liam McNeeley, and the other is a 2029 first-rounder that will be the least valuable pick between Utah, Cleveland and Minnesota. Combine that with the fact that the Suns didn’t have to jettison a more useful player like Royce O’Neale or Cody Martin to match salary, and it really isn’t that much to stomach.

The injury woes are concerning, but it’s worth remembering that Williams is still only 23 years old and has All-Defensive potential. He just averaged a career-best 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game last year, and even if he misses significant time…the Suns just hedged their bets on him by drafting a top-10 rookie big who could be their long-term solution at the 5 if Maluach reaches his immense potential.

As Laker fans well know by now, I am a huge Mark Williams believer. I love the swing the Suns just took on him, especially since they also have Maluach now so their risk is muted.

Between the two, I feel pretty good that they got their long-term center.

— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) June 26, 2025

More importantly, Williams is another long 7-footer from Duke whose defensive prowess should fit right in under Jordan Ott. The connections run deeper, since Maluach has a relationship with his NBA comp in Williams, and Brian Gregory noted that Ott played a “critical” role in the decision to draft Maluach after spending last season coaching Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in Cleveland.

“In all these meetings, Jordan was lockstep with us, watching film with us, talking about different things, again, how we’re gonna play, what are things that are important to him,” Gregory said. “With his experience, obviously the last year in Cleveland, his time with the Lakers, having bigs that are versatile, can protect the rim, but can still get up on ball screens and not just play the drop, be more aggressive defensively on the perimeter was a big, big part of our decision process….Having him and having him be able to actually break down film with us in terms of, ‘Watch this play, look at his movement here,’ different things like that, was critical in our decision tonight.”

You can bet the Suns coach was part of the conversation to acquire Williams too. Connect the dots and it’s pretty clear Ott has a certain vision in mind for the bigs on his team. But all of this begs the question: Do the Suns think Khaman Maluach and Mark Williams can play together?

In short, not yet…but maybe down the road? Williams shot 80.4 percent on his free throws and expanded his range in the midrange last year, but he’s still only taken four 3-pointers in his entire NBA career, and he missed all four. It might be years before his range extends to beyond the 3-point line, if ever.

With Maluach, however, there seems to be some optimism he can expand his range. The Duke product only shot 4-for-16 from deep last year, but his stroke looks good. He’s got great touch, evidenced by his finishing in the paint and his 76.6 percent shooting on free throws. Gregory acknowledged that his 3-point results weren’t great, but they believe there’s a pathway to him eventually being able to knock down 3s from the corners, above the break and in pick-and-pops.

“One of the things that is critical for us that we’re always looking at is, do guys have any obstacles in their way to stop them from continuing to develop?” Gregory explained. “We talk about the different ways to build your organization and build a better team, the draft is one of them. And I thought we did a great job of that tonight, but then player development has to be critical. So you have to bring in guys that want to develop, want to be coached, want to work. And he definitely is all those things and more.”

If Maluach develops a 3-ball, his ceiling would expand even further. But even in the worst-case scenario where he doesn’t, and Williams can’t stay healthy, and those two can’t play together, some of the concerns about the financial aspects feel inflated to fit a certain narrative.

The writing’s on the wall for Bradley Beal, and although a trade or a buyout and waive-and-stretch both feel unlikely, PHNX Sports has been reporting for weeks that the Suns will be pursuing one of those courses of action to shed his salary. How they do so will go a long way in determining whether they can dodge the second tax apron. Trades involving Grayson Allen or Royce O’Neale can always help there too.

Not being able to trade any more first-rounders is an annoyance, but we’ve seen this front office wheel-and-deal to acquire more picks before, even if they’re less valuable. As long as the Suns have movable role players, they can attempt to replenish those first-rounders (and likely will, year in and year out).

Finally, it cannot be overstated how much better Phoenix’s center rotation looks compared to last year. Having 48 minutes of quality center play is an underrated commodity in this league, and the Suns are hedging Maluach’s inexperience against Williams’ injury troubles to hopefully yield better results between two similar, capable, defensive-minded bigs.

Phoenix's center room went from Jusuf Nurkic & Mason Plumlee to Mark Williams & Khaman Maluach.

What a difference a year makes.

— Zona (@AZSportsZone) June 26, 2025

Make no mistake about it: Trading for Mark Williams right after drafting Khaman Maluach is not a clear-cut decision, and it’s one that will require subsequent moves to validate it. Much like the Jalen Green acquisition, the individual pieces are intriguing, but it remains to be seen how the disparate pieces of this puzzle come together. There’s still a lot of work to be done.

But on the bright side, the additions of Maluach, Williams, Green and Dillon Brooks have undoubtedly helped the Suns get some combination of younger, more athletic, more defensive-minded and hungrier. They don’t feel like a playoff team just yet, but they’re pushing closer to the identity Mat Ishbia and Brian Gregory have been forecasting for weeks.