Suns draft Khaman Maluach with the 10th pick

[AzStevenCal]

I think it’s premature to say queen has hit his ceiling as a rookie.

Yeah especially since it's so uncommon for a just turned 21 year old rookie to have even approached his ceiling let alone be capped by it.

 

[oaken1]

Great article, thanks for posting. I think the most important thing in the article seems to be that the Suns are building a hustle culture at every level in the organization. Ott has determined what kind of team he wants to have, and they are even demanding it in G-league play. Maluach and Fleming both clearly know how they will have to play to get minutes with the NBA team.

Honestly. I have been a Suns fan since 1976 and we have never had that. The Barkley era teams relied on talent. The 77OL teams relied on quick offense and not much D, DAntoni also played 7-8 guys regularly, at most, so he burned them out by the end of the year. The Monty teams went really depended on CP3 to coordinate the talent on the floor, but were mediocre defensive teams.

This present situation seems to have a clear, well-rounded, culture in mind and is developing it from the ground up. It is the same culture that OKC has. That team has talent, but its the way they play together that really gives them an advantage.

We don't have the talent level, but its clear to see that a culture can make a team really competitive, and who knows what Fleming and Maluach might develop to be?

I would like to see the Suns develop a culture like the old Detroit bad boys...all out hustle, throttling defense, and always picking up the garbage....but with a bit better offense, lol.
These kids are exciting. Maluach may well be the guy that brought/brings me back to the NBA.... Maluach and Fleming are the start on an awesome front court...add in a 6'8"...240 pounds-ish bully at the 4 spot and they could be very versatile.

I really like how quick and twitchy Fleming is...dude is twitchy and sudden like a crackhead and that wingspan makes every move look effortless

 

[GatorAZ]

I think it’s premature to say queen has hit his ceiling as a rookie.

I remember this young pudgy rookie center in Denver once upon a time.

 

[Yuma]

Let me rephrase, Queen is close to his ceiling than Maluach.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

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[TJ]

History is not on Maluach’s side

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[Sparky16]

Blocks, offensive rebounds, right handed hooks, left handed hooks, layups with both hands, three point shot, long two point jumper, finishing lobs at the rim, and even some dribbling in the open court (I wouldn't want him to do that much). He is starting to do this consistently in the G-league now.

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Looking like Jordan Lawler 2.0 - just a AAAA player?

 

[Chaplin]

History is not on Maluach’s side

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No, it's not a big concern at this point.

He's got 2 rotation guys in front of him WHO HAVE BEEN HEALTHY. That's it, full stop.

 

[Mainstreet]

If I'm going to compare two big men in the 2025 draft that were both raw and young when drafted, age 18, I think of Khaman Maluach and Joan Beringer.

Maluach was selected at #10 and Beringer at #17.

In a head-to-head comparison, the link below is what it looks like. Beringer's stats are slightly better except for free throw shooting.

Khaman Maluach vs. Joan Beringer: Head-to-Head Stats Comparison | Stathead

Compare Players: Check out the head-to-head stats of Khaman Maluach and Joan Beringer including their awards, honors, championships, playoff and regular season stats, and much more on Stathead

www.sports-reference.com

Just my 2 cents, but based on what I have seen, Beringer has the higher upside although it's too early to draw conclusions.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

khaman is in the best boarding school ishy can buy learning how to be a manman - we're actually built for it having oso williams and the g-league team - props to ish

 

[Yuma]

History is not on Maluach’s side

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Nope. On that same draft day we traded for a Center, almost literally at the same time. Williams was always going to be the starter. Then we also had Igadaro, who if he could shoot would probably be a PF instead of a center. There were two guys ahead of him to start. Also, it was known that he was behind in development compared to other guys in the draft who had played way more basketball in their lives. Finally, he's still WAY young. There's time.

 

[Yuma]

If I'm going to compare two big men in the 2025 draft that were both raw and young when drafted, age 18, I think of Khaman Maluach and Joan Beringer.

Maluach was selected at #10 and Beringer at #17.

In a head-to-head comparison, the link below is what it looks like. Beringer's stats are slightly better except for free throw shooting.

Khaman Maluach vs. Joan Beringer: Head-to-Head Stats Comparison | Stathead

Compare Players: Check out the head-to-head stats of Khaman Maluach and Joan Beringer including their awards, honors, championships, playoff and regular season stats, and much more on Stathead

www.sports-reference.com

Just my 2 cents, but based on what I have seen, Beringer has the higher upside although it's too early to draw conclusions.

One of the biggest stats is Beringer is 4 years older. We have four years to develop Maluach before he even reaches Beringer's age.

 

[Mainstreet]

One of the biggest stats is Beringer is 4 years older. We have four years to develop Maluach before he even reaches Beringer's age.

Beringer is actually a tad younger than Maluach. Check the dates of birth below:

Joan Beringer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Joan Beringer. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

Khaman Maluach Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Khaman Maluach. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

 

[AzStevenCal]

Beringer is actually a tad younger than Maluach. Check the dates of birth below:

Joan Beringer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Joan Beringer. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

Khaman Maluach Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Khaman Maluach. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

Yeah I looked at that chart and made the same mistake Yuma did, thought the 27 to 23 line was age instead of games played.

As for Maluach, I was concerned about the pick when we made it and still have the same doubts today. But my level of concern hasn't changed, he still seems like a hard worker, a good guy and a project.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah I looked at that chart and made the same mistake Yuma did, thought the 27 to 23 line was age instead of games played.

As for Maluach, I was concerned about the pick when we made it and still have the same doubts today. But my level of concern hasn't changed, he still seems like a hard worker, a good guy and a project.

I was hoping Maluach would flash more NBA athleticism before now. He has skills but his reflexes (faster reaction time) doesn't seem to be there as yet. Hopefully it will come with playing experience and time.

 

[Yuma]

Beringer is actually a tad younger than Maluach. Check the dates of birth below:

Joan Beringer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Joan Beringer. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

Khaman Maluach Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Khaman Maluach. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, shoots, school and more on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

Aah. Got it. I think I looked at games played as their age. I actually think the games played stat is off. We haven't seen Maluach that many times this year.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

maluach has been playing basketball for a total of 6 years now - gillespie played a total of 5 years of basketball at villanova alone

i see maluach being nba bench ready next year - question is - with oso and williams - what does ott do?

 

[Mainstreet]

maluach has been playing basketball for a total of 6 years now - gillespie played a total of 5 years of basketball at villanova alone

i see maluach being nba bench ready next year - question is - with oso and williams - what does ott do?

I'd take that problem any day of the week. If the Suns rookies are able to contribute some next season, I'd be thrilled.

Fleming is getting close.

 

[Covert Rain]

This guy was a long shot statistically. He is so young the Suns likely had seen it as a risk worth taking. Not going to be shocked if he is out of the league in a few years.

 

[Adrian]

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[BooksOrangePlanet]

welcome to today's edition of the mall-you-watch

khaman pulled in 6 boards in 8 minutes last night vs the spurs - granted it was garbage time with everyone jacking shots - 6 boards in 8 minutes is good but williams getting 10 boards in just 23 minutes against wemby is better

the problem last night was oso imo and his 2 rebounds in 18 minutes - mostly against kornet who also scored at will on ighodaro

i see oso playing powerfowardguard next year with manman playing center- atleast in spurts - it just has to happen - we need a fast AND tall lineup in our bag

 

[Yuma]

This guy was a long shot statistically. He is so young the Suns likely had seen it as a risk worth taking. Not going to be shocked if he is out of the league in a few years.

I can think of guys like Manute Bol, etc, that were not supposed to work out in the NBA. Yes, the odds are against them, but the ones that do work, it's a great payoff. The Suns said right from the start he wasn't going to play a lot his first season. Fans seem to forget he was a project pick.

 

[Covert Rain]

I can think of guys like Manute Bol, etc, that were not supposed to work out in the NBA. Yes, the odds are against them, but the ones that do work, it's a great payoff. The Suns said right from the start he wasn't going to play a lot his first season. Fans seem to forget he was a project pick.

I don't fault the Suns for that pick. There really isn't a lock at #10.

 

[Mainstreet]

I don't fault the Suns for that pick. There really isn't a lock at #10.

Although the Suns could have traded down in the draft and received an unprotected first round pick from the Pelicans if they were unsure.

 

[Yuma]

I don't fault the Suns for that pick. There really isn't a lock at #10.

I think it usually takes big men 2-3 years to develop. Alex Len turned out to be serviceable, but it took him even longer. DeAndre Ayton seems to be actually regressing in his career. With big men it's always a crap shoot. This kid at least has a positive attitude. I can see him progressing in his development. Could he be a Mark West? Solid but not great? Sure. If he played a decade as a Mark West level achievement, that's a solid draft pick.