PHOENIX - Khaman Maluach got one of the toughest assignments a young center can draw, and the night ended with something even more valuable than a clean stat line: Dillon Brooks’s approval.
Facing Victor Wembanyama on Saturday, the Phoenix Suns big man took on the challenge head-on and held up well enough to stand out. Brooks noticed. The veteran’s reaction fit the mix of teasing and mentoring that has followed Maluach through his early growth in Phoenix.
The playful part came later in the locker room, when Brooks joked that the turning point was back in the offseason, when he yelled at Maluach and got a nod in response. But the bigger point was clear: Brooks has invested in helping younger players develop, and Maluach has benefited from that.
A lot of that growth has shown up since NBA Summer League, where the former No. 10 overall pick led the tournament in rebounds and led centers in points per game. The shooting numbers were eye-catching too, with a near 50/40/80 split. Still, the biggest leap came in handling the bruising reality of playing center at this level.
Against Wembanyama, that development showed up in real time.
“I think it was great. I think I learned a lot,” he explained outside the locker room. “Guys like him, I try to go out there and learn as much as I can, whether it's me guarding them or how they play offense or how they carry themselves.
“I notice little stuff like that. So, it was a lot of learning out there for me.”
The Suns’ starting center situation remains unsettled, and head coach Jordan Ott has said throughout the preseason that the team will keep evaluating. Matchups could decide it from night to night, and Saturday offered a strong case for Maluach against a player like Wembanyama.
His wingspan, shot-blocking, and similar frame made him a logical fit for that assignment. And from Brooks’s perspective, that kind of test is exactly part of the point.
“It's a process,” he said. “He's young, and he gets to see those types of matchups and when we play them again because we're gonna play them about three times, that we have trust in him to guard him and give me a little break if I don't need to guard him.”
Phoenix heads to San Antonio for another meeting on Wednesday, which could give Maluach another chance to make his case - and another chance to keep building a case that’s starting to get noticed.
In Other News...
Luke Kennard Is Giving The Suns More Than They Expected On The Wing
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Kennards appeal to the Suns goes beyond whether he can chase Allens old role one for one. The shooting profile is different, the volume is different and the style is different, but Phoenix has already seen enough to know he can add layers to the wing group instead of simply blending into it. For a team looking for dependable spacing and a little extra creation, that makes the rest of his preseason worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Khaman Maluach Is Giving The Suns A Real Frontcourt Decision
Khaman Maluachs preseason has given the Suns something they did not necessarily expect this soon: a real conversation in the middle of the frontcourt. With Mark Williams sidelined for several months, the rookie center has stepped into a far bigger role than planned, and his recent work has done more than just keep the spot warm. A 10-point, 15-rebound outing against the Spurs only added to the sense that Phoenix has found a young big man who can handle real minutes right away.
Jordan Ott and Dillon Brooks have both praised Maluachs performance and progress, and that matters in a camp where opportunity is open but trust still has to be earned. The question now is not whether the Suns like what they have seen, but how far they are willing to go with it when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Kennard Is Giving The Suns A Reason To Believe In This Fit
Luke Kennard has given the Suns something to feel good about in the preseason, and that matters for a team trying to sort out its rotation before the games count. With Devin Booker out of the lineup, Kennard has stepped into a starting role and shown why Phoenix wanted him in the mix, bringing the kind of shooting and secondary creation that can fit next to the Suns core.
The larger expectation, though, is that Kennards value will come when he shifts back to the bench and settles into a reserve role. Phoenix is counting on him to stretch the floor and handle a little playmaking in those second-unit minutes, and his early comfort level has made that plan look more promising than it might have seemed on paper. The real test comes once the rotation tightens and the regular season begins. [Read more 🡒]