Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach...
Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach (Arizona Sports Photo/Jeremy Schnell)
The Phoenix Suns may have few draft picks and not much quality young talent, but all hope is not lost.
In fact, a lot of that hope is on the shoulders of 2025 10th overall pick, South Sudanese center Khaman Maluach.
Maluach is easily the Suns’ most prized young talent, and his development is more important than ever.
NBA insiders at ESPN have the Suns ranked 25th in their annual three-year future power rankings. Their lack of draft capital combined with a low-ceiling, veteran-heavy roster is a big reason why.
ESPN analyst Ben Golliver questions how the Suns will get back to being a formidable playoff team with Devin Booker in his prime, but his bold prediction is that Maluach could be the answer:
Khaman Maluach is Phoenix’s best hope of escaping the treadmill of mediocrity. After giving up on the Devin Booker and (Kevin) Durant pairing, the Suns have constructed a low-ceiling roster with veterans such as Dillon Brooks and (Miles) Bridges. How does Booker, who turns 30 in October, ever get back to making noise in the playoffs? … Phoenix really needs Maluach to hit or it risks squandering the rest of Booker’s prime.
Booker has repeatedly made it known that he has no intentions of playing anywhere other than Phoenix, but if Maluach isn’t able to realize his potential, Booker could end up spending the rest of his career with minimal postseason success.
Maluach showed flashes of greatness last season in limited minutes, and he followed that up with an incredibly productive Summer League in July.
In his four Summer League games, he averaged 19.5 points, a league-high 12.8 rebounds, one assist, 1.3 steals and two blocks. He shot 53.4% from the field and 40% from 3-point range, an impressive mark for a big man.
With starting center Mark Williams dealing with an injury that will sideline him for the majority of the season, a path to more minutes right away seems very feasible for Maluach.