Khaman Maluach may only be ninth on the Suns’ list of players with the most to prove, but his place on it says plenty about how quickly the conversation around him has changed.
The 19-year-old entered the picture looking like a raw rookie. Then came a Summer League burst that was loud enough to turn heads and convincing enough that Phoenix shut him down. That kind of showing has shifted the tone around him fast, even with Mark Williams back in the mix on a three-year, $38 million extension.
That deal matters, but it also doesn’t lock the Suns into anything if Maluach keeps moving the way he has. A quicker-than-expected rise from him could make Williams movable, which would help Phoenix’s increasingly crowded cap sheet and open the door for a homegrown frontcourt built around Maluach and Oso Ighodaro.
If that path ever comes into focus, Maluach would be staring at a huge job: starting at center for a team trying to make the playoffs and win a series. He is nowhere close to being ready for that level of responsibility right now.
What Phoenix needs in year two is much simpler. The Suns want proof that the Summer League run was real and not a one-off, and that the player who looked lost late last season has already taken a real step forward.
A season without any G League detours, a modest jump from the 46 games he played as a rookie, and production in the range of six points and six rebounds a night would be a meaningful signal. That would be a major climb from the three points and just under three boards he posted in his first NBA season.
The challenge is obvious. Bigger centers are going to lean on him.
Skilled bigs like Domantas Sabonis are going to pull him out of position and make him chase. And because he is still so young, every rough night is going to invite criticism.
Even so, each sign of growth strengthens the Suns’ side of the Kevin Durant trade, and Maluach has already picked up a little national attention along the way. The progress may not come in a straight line, but that’s exactly why he still has so much to prove.
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