Suns draft Khaman Maluach with the 10th pick

[JCSunsfan]

Hopefully Man man gets some minutes tonight.

 

[Ronin]

Suns' Khaman Maluach: Assigned to G League

Suns' Khaman Maluach: Assigned to G League

www.cbssports.com

 

[BirdGangThing]

g-league is what's best for maluach- he needs manutes manutes and more manutes

 

[SunsTzu]

g-league is what's best for maluach- he needs manutes manutes and more manutes

Also seems encouraging for how they feel about Mark Williams' health.

 

[TJ]

My man cant even beat out Oso and Nick Richards for minutes.

I knew this was a bad pick.

 

[BirdGangThing]

My man cant even beat out Oso and Nick Richards for minutes.

I knew this was a bad pick.

13 games in huh? and even tho we have mark williams? but you knew lol

 

[BirdGangThing]

g league isn't an indictment it's unlimited minutes

 

[TJ]

13 games in huh? and even tho we have mark williams? but you knew lol

So beat out Oso for rotation minutes. He cant do that. He was too much of a project for me to consider at #10.

 

[BirdGangThing]

So beat out Oso for rotation minutes. He cant do that. He was too much of a project for me to consider at #10.

oso has been playing basketball twice as many years... nevermind bro

maluach is a project not a bad pick - we're winning without manman right now because we have better options - we have the g league team for this exact reason - brea is building his confidence there as we speak - neither you nor i know what maluach will become

 

[TJ]

oso has been playing basketball twice as many years

Oso's a former 2nd round pick who averages 4 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes and doesnt do one thing exceptionally well. He's easily replaceable in the rotation. Maluach should easily slide in and nab those minutes, not hand out towels and water bottles.

#10 picks arent projects; and if youre looking for a project at 10, just take Carter Bryant, who plays wing and is more of a position of need than a 4th center.

(I dont like Carter Bryant either, btw)

 

[BirdGangThing]

Oso's a former 2nd round pick who averages 4 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes and doesnt do one thing exceptionally well. He's easily replaceable in the rotation. Maluach should easily slide in and nab those minutes, not hand out towels and water bottles.

#10 picks arent projects; and if youre looking for a project at 10, just take Carter Bryant, who plays wing and is more of a position of need than a 4th center.

(I dont like Carter Bryant either, btw)

ok man - maluach has been playing basketball for 5 years - not 15 years like oso - there is no "should easily slide in and nab those minutes"

you might not like maluach but he was still the highest rated center coming out of the draft for a reason - even with everybody knowing he is a project

this all sounds more like what you want - and i get it because i want the same damn thing lol but im gonna be super patient with the potential future defensive mvp

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Are those the minutes worth grabbing though? Can get more minutes and different minutes in the G League path.

He definitely would have benefited from another year (or 2) in college

However, he was absolutely going to be a lottery pick - so here we are. This is the modem system.

I'd personally like to see him get his lumps and develop at the NBA level

However, if there are specific elements of his game they want him to work on and the G League provides that, then I'm not opposed

The NBA minutes are in context of that meaningful game - you have to play your role and play within the confines of everything going on

In the G League you can force it at bit. If they want him to get comfortable shooting at range, go where you can get up a half dozen deep shots a game and it's not taking away from others.

Most offensive items may be better at the G League to develop

The physicality side, I would have a strong preference to earn stripes against the men you need to compete against

 

[JCSunsfan]

Oso's a former 2nd round pick who averages 4 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes and doesnt do one thing exceptionally well. He's easily replaceable in the rotation. Maluach should easily slide in and nab those minutes, not hand out towels and water bottles.

#10 picks arent projects; and if youre looking for a project at 10, just take Carter Bryant, who plays wing and is more of a position of need than a 4th center.

(I dont like Carter Bryant either, btw)

Not if Oso keeps playing like he did last night.

Once the kid is on the roster, all thought about where he was drafted should be flushed. Take him where he is and develop him accordingly. That is the only way to build players and build a team.

 

[JCSunsfan]

ok man - maluach has been playing basketball for 5 years - not 15 years like oso - there is no "should easily slide in and nab those minutes"

you might not like maluach but he was still the highest rated center coming out of the draft for a reason - even with everybody knowing he is a project

this all sounds more like what you want - and i get it because i want the same damn thing lol but im gonna be super patient with the potential future defensive mvp

Agreed. It takes some time to develop players, especially ones as young as Maluach. G-league is a good move for his development IMO.

 

[TJ]

Are those the minutes worth grabbing though? Can get more minutes and different minutes in the G League path.

He definitely would have benefited from another year (or 2) in college

However, he was absolutely going to be a lottery pick - so here we are. This is the modem system.

I'd personally like to see him get his lumps and develop at the NBA level

However, if there are specific elements of his game they want him to work on and the G League provides that, then I'm not opposed

The NBA minutes are in context of that meaningful game - you have to play your role and play within the confines of everything going on

In the G League you can force it at bit. If they want him to get comfortable shooting at range, go where you can get up a half dozen deep shots a game and it's not taking away from others.

Most offensive items may be better at the G League to develop

The physicality side, I would have a strong preference to earn stripes against the men you need to compete against

I watched Maluach live multiple times last season. I never felt like I was watching a future Top-10 NBA center in the making. He had no business being OAD, and would’ve done much better at Duke had he stayed and developed under Scheyer and with no Cooper Flagg on the team. My point is Maluach isn’t ready to contribute now and doesn’t have a high enough ceiling to merit a top-10 pick and a roster spot.

Ultimately, this will end up as a wasted pick. Comfortable saying this

 

[SirStefan32]

Isn't this normal- when you have a local team, you send your youngsters there to play a game in-between NBA games?

 

[MigratingOsprey]

My point is Maluach isn’t ready to contribute now and doesn’t have a high enough ceiling to merit a top-10 pick and a roster spot.

Hard disagree on the ceiling.

He has tremendous tools and things that can't be taught

He also made a lot of progress throughout the year last year and was developing a really solid game sense for someone who has been at it for such a small amount of time

Screens, moving the ball, help defense, all that feel and understanding stuff really improved - which gives hope for development

He needs to get used to playing against big, strong players and developing a more physical presence - again, a could more years in a strong strength program and very specific coaching would have helped - but the $$$ makes this path an easy call

All the centers this year were prospects - 2 of them selected shortly after him got injured and another started in the G League

I think the year prior had a better crop, but typically there aren't a ton of centers

 

[Ronin]

Suns provide answers to lack of playing time for Khaman Maluach | Sporting News

After a start to the 2025-26 season where the Phoenix Suns have provided limited minutes to lottery pick Khaman Maluach, the team provided answers.

www.sportingnews.com

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Yeah he seems like a perfect G-league develop. Does him no good sitting on the bench. NBA practices are good, but even the lesser G-league will help him and he can work on developing specific skills vs. being responsible to win.

 

[Hoop Head]

Isn't this normal- when you have a local team, you send your youngsters there to play a game in-between NBA games?

Kind of. With the G-League being set in Phoenix also they share a training facility with the main roster. He can still practice some with the big league Suns while playing for the Valley Suns. If he's not seeing minutes, and he's not, then might as well get him on the court somewhere. This is really the best for Maluach and the Suns.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Kind of. With the G-League being set in Phoenix also they share a training facility with the main roster. He can still practice some with the big league Suns while playing for the Valley Suns. If he's not seeing minutes, and he's not, then might as well get him on the court somewhere. This is really the best for Maluach and the Suns.

This is what G league is for.

 

[Hoop Head]

This is what G league is for.

Kind of. We lucked out by having our G-League team play in the same city as the main league team. That allows more commingling than most teams.

I don't want to credit Sarver since tax payers paid a huge chunk for the Suns practice facility but the Suns facilities are a huge plus in how we've been able to operate the last few years. Unfortunately the team didn't care about the G-League or youth so it was squandered. Ishbia was able to come in and add a G-League team to the Phoenix Metro area that could develop alongside more NBA ready talent.

 

[Ronin]

Suns' Khaman Maluach Struggles in G-League Debut

The Suns need their rookie big to produce at the G-League level, though his debut left some room for improvement.

www.si.com

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Suns' Khaman Maluach Struggles in G-League Debut

The Suns need their rookie big to produce at the G-League level, though his debut left some room for improvement.

www.si.com

Ouch.

 

[95pro]

I watched Maluach live multiple times last season. I never felt like I was watching a future Top-10 NBA center in the making. He had no business being OAD, and would’ve done much better at Duke had he stayed and developed under Scheyer and with no Cooper Flagg on the team. My point is Maluach isn’t ready to contribute now and doesn’t have a high enough ceiling to merit a top-10 pick and a roster spot.

Ultimately, this will end up as a wasted pick. Comfortable saying this

Maybe this is why he was available to us at 10, and isn’t played over Oso and Richard’s. I wonder if he has the lowest minutes played out of all top 10 rookies.