Suns draft Khaman Maluach with the 10th pick

[Mainstreet]

It's his agility testing that concerns me, tested worse than other behemoths like Zikarsky and Yang, but I guess he is more of a smooth athlete than explosive.

If he ends up being a pure drop big on defense it will really limit him.

I kept thinking about Rudy Gobert when I watched tape and I think he covers ground much better than him.

Maluach is only 18, so I think there is plenty of room for him to develop.

He has great hands, sets screens and moves on defense, so I think he will be fine. With his measurements and anticipation, it doesn't take long for him to get there.

 

[95pro]

It's his agility testing that concerns me, tested worse than other behemoths like Zikarsky and Yang, but I guess he is more of a smooth athlete than explosive.

If he ends up being a pure drop big on defense it will really limit him.

Yeah that’s one knock on our picks is their lateral movement iirc

 

[JerkFace]

BTW - The Suns were going to draft Carter Bryant had Maluach not fallen to them

Out of curiosity where did you hear that? I had heard it was going to be Noa Essengue.

 

[SunsTzu]

Out of curiosity where did you hear that? I had heard it was going to be Noa Essengue.

I figured Essengue was the target with the Mark Williams trade apparently being agreed to before the draft.

 

[GatorAZ]

It's his agility testing that concerns me, tested worse than other behemoths like Zikarsky and Yang, but I guess he is more of a smooth athlete than explosive.

If he ends up being a pure drop big on defense it will really limit him.

It will take some time for his coordination and mobility to catch up to his body. I literally expect nothing in year one.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think Maluach should be right there with Donovan Clingan and Zach Edey his first season, maybe even some other centers in the 2024 draft if he gets playing time.

Of course, I hope for more especially on defense, rebounding and on screens.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think Maluach should be right there with Donovan Clingan and Zach Edey his first season, maybe even some other centers in the 2024 draft if he gets playing time.

Of course, I hope for more especially on defense, rebounding and on screens.

you're setting yourself up for disappointment if you're expecting Maluach, at 18 years old, with only a freshmen year under his belt, to be right there with Zach Edey's rookie season, considering he was 22 and played at least 3 years of college before hitting the NBA. And even Clingan played two years in college basketball and was two years older than Maluach.

Dude is almost as raw as it comes. Patience will hopefully be a virtue there, but people gotta be ready to have patience.

 

[Superbone]

It will take some time for his coordination and mobility to catch up to his body. I literally expect nothing in year one.

You don't think he'll have one dunk for the Suns?

 

[TJ]

Out of curiosity where did you hear that? I had heard it was going to be Noa Essengue.

UofA peeps.

Carter was 50/50 to come back to UofA until he was given a lottery promise by a few teams. Can’t confirm if the Suns were one of them because that decision was made before the KD trade.

 

[JerkFace]

UofA peeps.

Carter was 50/50 to come back to UofA until he was given a lottery promise by a few teams. Can’t confirm if the Suns were one of them because that decision was made before the KD trade.

Nice. I don’t have some super great source, it’s just what I saw here and there. I also heard that if Maluach wasn’t available we had some trade talks with the Spurs to move back to 14. They wanted to move up for Carter because they were worried he wouldn’t last to 14. It worked out well for them though since he was still there at 14.

 

[Yuma]

I heard the Suns were trying to get to 31 because they wanted Raheer, but Boston was at 32 and word was they were picking Rasheer. They started the day with 52 and 59, I think. They got a deal done to get to 36. Then they did the deal to get to 41. The idea was maybe the team at 31 would take those two picks to give up 31. Then they added more draft capital with the 36th pick to get 31 done. They then had 41 left over, and saw Brea as a good value there.

A lot of podcasts are saying they haven't seen anyone maneuver that much on day 2 before. However, I saw an amazing stat that only 4 picks in the second round were made by the original teams.

 

[CardNots]

the more i read about him, the more i love this pick

Reminds me a lot of how I felt when we drafted that young kid out of Kentucky years back

 

[SunsTzu]

Reminds me a lot of how I felt when we drafted that young kid out of Kentucky years back

Tyler Ulis?

 

[Yuma]

Reminds me a lot of how I felt when we drafted that young kid out of Kentucky years back

I was thinking that about Brea. A shooter from Kentucky no one knows what to expect.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Tyler Ulis?

I went for Kyle Macy since we traded away the Rajon Rondo pick. Of course, there's also the guard that we're about to give a huge raise to but he did say "from way back".

 

[Finito]

I think Maluach should be right there with Donovan Clingan and Zach Edey his first season, maybe even some other centers in the 2024 draft if he gets playing time.

Of course, I hope for more especially on defense, rebounding and on screens.

He’s nowhere even close offensively to Edey. This dude is as raw as it gets.

 

[JCSunsfan]

you're setting yourself up for disappointment if you're expecting Maluach, at 18 years old, with only a freshmen year under his belt, to be right there with Zach Edey's rookie season, considering he was 22 and played at least 3 years of college before hitting the NBA. And even Clingan played two years in college basketball and was two years older than Maluach.

Dude is almost as raw as it comes. Patience will hopefully be a virtue there, but people gotta be ready to have patience.

He had a TON of green bubbles on tankathon so I have some expectations.

 

[Hoop Head]

I went for Kyle Macy since we traded away the Rajon Rondo pick. Of course, there's also the guard that we're about to give a huge raise to but he did say "from way back".

I was thinking Archie Goodwin because of the "way back".

 

[Mainstreet]

I was thinking Archie Goodwin because of the "way back".

Archie had so much talent, but unfortunately it didn't translate to the NBA.

 

[CardNots]

Tyler Ulis?

Pick number 13 in 2015, Devin Booker.

 

[Hoop Head]

The Timeline podcast is worth checking out on YouTube this week. It's 90 minutes but they analyze game film from all of our picks.

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[SunsTzu]

Pick number 13 in 2015, Devin Booker.

Never heard of him.

 

[Folster]

Not sure who has seen this. Ishbia calling Maluach's agent before the draft.

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[JCSunsfan]

I don't care if this kid is unpolished. Williams should start and he should be the first big off the bench. We aren't competing for a championship and the only way you learn is by playing.

 

[Mainstreet]

Not sure who has seen this. Ishbia calling Maluach's agent before the draft.

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The question, is this entirely Ishbia's pick or is he speaking for the Suns war room so to speak?

One would have thought, Brian Gregory would have been on the phone with Rich Paul.