Khaman Maluach suddenly has a clear path to a bigger stage in Phoenix.
Mark Williams, the former Duke big man, suffered a torn labrum in a recent offseason workout and needed surgery. ESPN reported that Williams is expected to miss several months, which puts his new team in a tough spot before the season even gets going.
That injury stings for Williams, who had just put together a career-best workload last season. After being traded to the Phoenix Suns from the Charlotte Hornets, he appeared in 60 games, the most of his career. He then signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $38 million deal to return to Phoenix this offseason.
For now, though, the spotlight shifts to another former Duke center.
Maluach turned in a strong second Summer League and now has a real opening in front of him with Williams sidelined. Phoenix still has decisions to make, but the rookie is in position to handle a meaningful workload while Williams recovers.
His first season was always going to be a adjustment period. Maluach won’t turn 20 for another three days, and that kind of transition rarely happens overnight. Still, he’s already shown signs of a real jump heading into year two.
Summer League was the clearest proof. Maluach looked comfortable, flashed his athletic tools, and continued to show the defensive upside that made him such an appealing prospect. The biggest development may have been the shot from outside, which looked improved enough to give his game another layer.
The starting center job in Phoenix now looks like a battle between Maluach and former Marquette big man Oso Ighodaro. Ighodaro played in all 82 games for the Suns last season and made 24 starts. He’s dependable, but Maluach offers the more explosive ceiling and the kind of interior presence that can change games.
Phoenix was one of the league’s surprise teams last season. After trading Kevin Durant, few expected the Suns to stay in the playoff picture, but they finished with the 8-seed in the West. With young pieces like Maluach, they have a chance to keep climbing.
When Williams is healthy again, the Suns could have an interesting frontcourt tandem. The franchise clearly believes in Maluach after taking him with the No. 10 pick, and this injury gives him a chance to prove he belongs in the starting five. If he takes that job and runs with it, Phoenix may not rush to hand it back when Williams returns in a few months.
In Other News...
Duke Gets Another Shot At Illinois After Last Year's Ugly Collapse
Dukes trip back to Illinois carries a little extra edge, even if the Blue Devils are trying not to dress it up as payback. Last seasons meeting turned into one of the rougher spots in a five-loss year, a game that slipped away despite Duke moving the ball well enough to keep pace in yardage before the turnovers took over.
This time, the Blue Devils arrive with at least one early win in hand after beating Tulane, and the focus around the program has been on playing cleaner football. Manny Diaz has made it clear he wants the team built on steady execution, not a revenge storyline, but this is still the kind of rematch that tests whether those lessons have actually stuck. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Heads To Illinois With One Big Question After Opening Win
Duke opened the season with a win over Tulane, and the film offered both reassurance and a clear reminder of how much still has to come together before the trip to Illinois. The offense found real traction on the ground, with Nate Sheppard turning in the kind of workload that can steady a team early in the year, while the offensive line gave the Blue Devils enough push to control stretches of the game. Walker Eget, meanwhile, had moments that suggested the passing game could grow into something more dangerous as the season unfolds.
The issue is whether Duke can get that aerial attack to match the rest of the operation soon enough to matter in a tougher road setting. Bryce Davis and the linebacker corps gave the defense a promising starting point, but the Blue Devils know the next step is making the whole picture cleaner and more complete. Against Illinois, the margin for leaning almost entirely on one part of the offense is likely to shrink fast. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Has Ground To Make Up In 5-Star Guard Battle
Jon Scheyer and Duke are already trying to get out in front of the 2027 guard race, and the Blue Devils have put scholarships on the table for two of the classs top names in Beckham Black and Adan Diggs. For a program that lives on elite backcourt talent, that kind of early attention is no surprise, especially with Duke still sitting on one commitment in the 2027 cycle and a handful of possible visits still taking shape.
Diggs is the more immediate name to watch in that group, with his recruitment trimmed down to seven schools and Duke among the programs still in the mix. Even so, the Blue Devils appear to have some ground to make up as the process moves forward, and with the 2027 board still fluid, Scheyers staff will need to keep working while the picture around Diggs and the rest of the class continues to evolve. [Read more 🡒]