The NBA is back, and Tim Legler wasted no time making his first statement on ESPN’s All NBA Podcast. When he opened his “My Guys” draft of underrated players around the league, he went straight to Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach.
For Legler, the appeal starts with the way Maluach handled his Summer League assignment in Las Vegas. Even after playing a full season for the Suns, including the playoffs, the 20-year-old still embraced the extra run.
“Khaman Maluach went into Phoenix with that mentality. As a lottery pick, they asked him to go (to Summer League), he wanted to go, and he was dominant.
He did it all over the place: on the glass, as a shot-blocker, he shot the ball well from the perimeter. I am really excited about what year two is going to look like for him.”
That kind of praise is not coming from nowhere. Maluach’s own head coach, Jordan Ott, has said he still has a chance to start for the Suns on opening night. That says plenty about how far he has come in a short time, especially with Oso Ighodaro having just signed an extension on his rookie deal.
The buzz around Maluach is easy to understand. He came into the league as the 10th overall pick, and his rookie season was uneven.
Offensively, he often looked out of place and lacked a reliable go-to move. Defensively, his size made him hard to ignore, even if his presence was more about discouraging drives than actively changing every possession.
That picture has started to shift. At Summer League and again in preseason, Maluach has shown a better feel for anchoring the defense, even if there is still plenty of work ahead. The 3-point shot, meanwhile, has emerged as a real development, and the mechanics have looked consistent.
If that two-way impact arrives quickly, Legler’s confidence will look right on the money. It would also reduce the need for two recent signings by the organization to carry more of the load.
Phoenix is asking a lot of a raw prospect, but Maluach has already shown he is willing to meet the moment. He went to Summer League without hesitation, and he also spent time working with Devin Booker during the offseason.
He has said he does not care whether he starts. His only focus is helping the team win. That mindset is exactly what Ott wants, and it could matter over the course of a long season, especially if there are stretches when the minutes do not come as steadily as Maluach would like.
Ighodaro likely starts, and there will be nights when Maluach sits more than he wants. Even so, Legler sees the upside loud and clear. In his view, Maluach is the kind of player worth betting on.
In Other News...
Suns Could Be Walking Into A Tougher Portland Opener Than Expected
The Suns 2026-27 opener in Portland already looks like it could carry a little more bite than a typical season-opening road game. The Trail Blazers have overhauled their roster in a major way, headlined by the arrival of Ja Morant and Damian Lillards return from injury, and they now have Mike Nouri in place as their new head coach. For Phoenix, that means a first look at a team that may be trying to prove it is no longer just a rebuilding opponent.
Jeremy Brener points to a Portland group that could be dangerous offensively while still sorting out some defensive questions, which is the kind of mix that can make an opener tricky to predict. Scoot Henderson and Robert Williams III are part of the broader picture too, and with Blazers fans likely to give the building plenty of energy, the Suns may be stepping into a tougher atmosphere than the schedule line suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Roster Reality Is Getting Harder To Ignore
The Suns place in FanSideds NBA99 serves as a pretty blunt snapshot of where the roster stands right now. Devin Booker checks in at No. 16, Dillon Brooks lands at No. 92, and thats it for Phoenix on the list, a reminder that the teams current core is thin on top-end depth and even thinner when it comes to the next wave of contributors. For a franchise trying to stay competitive in a crowded West, the absence of younger names in that group matters almost as much as who did make it.
It also leaves Phoenix staring at a harder long-term question than it would like to answer. The Suns have already leaned heavily into their veteran nucleus, and with recent additions not moving the needle in these rankings, the margin for error keeps shrinking as Booker and the rest of the core get older. The draft-pick cost of past moves only makes the challenge sharper, because finding cheap young help is usually how a team buys itself a future, and the Suns do not have a lot of that inventory left. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Open With One Big Question About Their New Look Around Booker
The Suns are back in Portland for the first meeting with the Trail Blazers since the Play-In Tournament in April, and this time the conversation around Phoenix has shifted to how the roster fits around Devin Booker. After an offseason that included bringing in Miles Bridges and drafting Koa Peat, the Suns are trying to add more size and force inside while still keeping enough perimeter punch to stay dangerous on the wing.
One spot still looks unsettled, though, and it could shape how Phoenix looks right out of the gate. Mark Williams injury has left the Suns without a firm answer at starting center, with Oso Ighodaro expected to get the nod in Portland, a reminder that for all the changes around Booker, this group is still sorting out its frontcourt identity. [Read more 🡒]