Khaman Maluach gave the Suns another reason to lean into the idea that his rise is coming sooner rather than later.
In Phoenix’s preseason win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, the former No. 10 overall pick delivered a 10-point, 15-rebound performance that stood out well beyond the box score. For a team trying to sort out its center rotation while Mark Williams is sidelined for months, that kind of night matters.
Maluach spent much of his rookie year on the margins, but his Summer League showing and a full year of seasoning have opened the door to a bigger role. Now, with Williams injured, his development has shifted from something nice to have into something the Suns need.
He’s been competing with Oso Ighodaro for starting minutes in Williams’ absence, and the picture is still unsettled. But the preseason tape has been encouraging, and this latest outing added more fuel to the idea that Maluach is moving in the right direction.
After the game, Dillon Brooks praised the young center’s work inside.
“I think he played well. He manned the paint, got some boards, caught some hard passes, finished with both hands. He played well and protected our rim really well," Dillon Brooks said of Maluach after the win.
Brooks also pointed to the defensive side of the matchup, especially the challenge of dealing with Wembanyama.
“He guarded Wemby really well. He stayed in front, made him take tough shots, helped contain him from getting rebounds by tipping it out and getting it to us, showing strength and grabbing boards over top.
It’s a process, he’s young and gets to see those different matchups. We play them again, we’ll play them about three times, we got to trust him to guard him and give me a little break.”
That’s the sort of assignment that reveals a lot about a young big man. Maluach came into the league with the reputation of being a project after being drafted out of Duke, and nobody expected the finished product to arrive after one rookie season. But the size, length and mobility are exactly what make him such an interesting development piece, especially if the Suns are serious about building one of the league’s better rim protectors around him.
Coach Jordan Ott said the team wanted a closer look at how Maluach would function with that group on the floor.
“I didn't know exactly who they'd play, but we wanted to see how Man-Man (Khaman Maluach) would fit with that lineup, and then obviously our lineup is not complete there either. But just give them the reps, get out, start, see what it looks like," Suns coach Jordan Ott said after Saturday night.
Ott also made clear that the rotation battle is still fluid, with Ighodaro and Maluach both part of the picture.
"Oso (Ighodaro) back to that second unit, we'll take a look at the film. A lot of times the impact of that position isn't always the box score stats. 10 and 15 is a heck of a night, but it doesn't matter who plays, the fight.
We need 48 minutes of great five-man play. The fives in this league are involved in every possession, offensively, defensively.
"We have great center depth. It took a hit with Mark, but tonight he played more minutes than Oso and the next night you never know. So those guys are both continually getting better and Man-Man took a step tonight."
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