The Suns still don’t have a starting center locked in, and Jordan Ott isn’t pretending otherwise.
Ott said Thursday he wants to “let the preseason play out” before deciding whether Khaman Maluach or Oso Ighodaro will open the season in the middle. That call, he said, should come “a couple of days” before Phoenix tips off its October 21 regular season opener. The winner would be stepping into the spot left open by injured big man Mark Williams.
Maluach has already started building chemistry with Devin Booker, and it apparently began with a text. In a separate report, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic detailed how that message led to the two working out together over the offseason.
“He has done this for a long time, and he has a lot of tools or a lot of stuff that I can learn from him as a center,” Maluach said of Booker. “As a young center, just being able to go to him, and just ask him what I should do in this situation because he’s that type of player in the NBA that will see different coverages every day or will get blitzed every game.
So just being able to be there and make his job easy for him. Ask him ‘Where I should throw you the ball, what you want me to do in this situation?’
“… He’s kind of like a coach himself. I get to learn a lot from him, a lot of stuff that the coaches don’t see that he sees as a player when he gets blitzed.”
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division, Domantas Sabonis says he’s finally feeling right again after a rough stretch. The Kings center was limited to 19 games last season because of a knee injury and spent plenty of time in trade rumors, but he told Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops that he feels “100%” now and had no trouble brushing off the speculation.
“Easy. It’s all made up,” Sabonis replied when asked how he deals with the distraction of trade chatter.
“It’s all out there. I don’t know where you guys get most of it from.
I’m there with (general manager) Scott (Perry), with my agent, so I’m not on social media as much.”
Sacramento head coach Doug Christie is also heading into a pivotal stretch, even if his deal technically runs through the 2027/28 season. That final year is a team option, which makes the upcoming season important for his long-term future. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports that Christie’s evaluation in 2026/27 will be driven more by the Kings’ competitiveness and the culture he establishes than by the raw numbers in the standings.
In Los Angeles, Dalton Knecht is still trying to force his way into the picture. After going quiet on the second-year wing for the first few days of camp, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said Thursday that Knecht “worked his butt off” this offseason and is “hungry” to earn a rotation role, according to Khobi Price of The California Post.
Even so, Price reports that several rival executives believe Knecht is likely to be the odd man out as the Lakers trim their roster from 16 players on guaranteed contracts down to 15 before opening night.
In Other News...
Suns Just Sent A Clear Message About Two Young Roster Pieces
The Suns have made their intentions pretty clear with two of their younger pieces, picking up team options for Khaman Maluach and Ryan Dunn for the 2027-28 season. For a roster that has leaned heavily on established talent, the move keeps both players in the fold and signals that Phoenix sees value in letting its development track keep moving forward.
Dunn is set to enter the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, while Maluach will be heading into his third season, and both remain among the clubs most intriguing prospects. More importantly for Phoenix, they are still competing for meaningful roles, which gives the Suns a chance to see whether that long-term optimism turns into real rotation help. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Face A Tough Extension Call On Key Young Pieces
The Suns have spent much of the early season sorting through a familiar front office puzzle: which of their younger pieces deserve long-term security, and which ones should play their way into it. Dillon Brooks already has his three-year extension in hand, but Phoenix still has multiple decisions coming up on players who are either newly eligible or approaching that stage, including Miles Bridges and Torrey Green. For a roster trying to balance present expectations with future flexibility, these talks matter almost as much as what happens on the court.
Phoenix is expected to let the performances do the talking before making any real commitments, which keeps the pressure on a little longer for everyone involved. Bridges arrived in a recent trade and gives the Suns a significant name to weigh, while Ighodaro is another player the team could view as part of a cost-conscious future if the fit is right. The next stretch should clarify whether Phoenix sees this group as a core worth locking in or a collection of assets best judged one season at a time. [Read more 🡒]
Khaman Maluach Is Forcing His Way Into Phoenixs Center Battle
Khaman Maluach arrived in Las Vegas with plenty of long-term intrigue, but he left having made his case for a much more immediate role. The Suns rookie led Summer League in rebounding and earned All-Summer League Second Team honors after putting together a strong four-game run, flashing the kind of shooting touch and defensive upside that can turn a developmental project into a real roster conversation.
For Phoenix, that matters because the center picture has already been reshaped by injury, and Maluachs size and mobility give him a different kind of appeal in the battle for minutes. The front office, coaches and teammates have all praised his work ethic and growth through the offseason, and now the question is how quickly that progress translates when the Suns sort out who is ready to hold down the middle. [Read more 🡒]