As the 2026 NBA Finals heads toward a conclusion, Phoenix Suns fans are already looking ahead to the offseason.
A number of players are set to become free agents, including starting center Mark Williams.
We’ve already made the case that the Suns should move on from the injury-prone big man. At the very least, Phoenix should entertain sign-and-trade possibilities for Williams so the Suns’ trade for him a year ago brings at least some long-term return after surrendering first-round picks to acquire him in the first place.
Bubbling beneath the surface of the possibility Williams won’t be back in The Valley is the potential of another big man: No. 10 overall draft pick Khaman Maluach.
Suns must make Khaman Maluach a bigger focus in 2026-27
The Duke product played sparingly during his rookie season in the pros, all while his former Blue Devils teammate Cooper Flagg won Rookie of the Year honors for a fantastic season with the Dallas Mavericks.
All told, Maluach played 46 games (one start) throughout his first season. Many of those appearances occurred during garbage time late in games when the result was already well in hand.
He played a bigger role for the Suns’ G League affiliate, where he averaged 16.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.2 assists across 11 games played (Tip-Off Tournament and regular season combined).
To be clear, Maluach had his warts. The 19-year-old converted just 26.7% of his 3-pointers on 2.7 attempts per game from deep in the G League. That’s an area the Suns need him to improve moving forward as he works on his game.
However, the Suns don’t need Maluach to be a knock-down 3-point shooter right away. His offensive game remains raw, but his defensive acumen suggests he’s ready for the big stage on that end of the floor.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie is among those calling Maluach the “center of the future” in Phoenix, and that faith is rooted in his defense and shot blocking.
Though the sample size wasn’t huge, Maluach’s defensive field goal percentage on shots inside of six feet of 44.3% was not only the best mark on the team, it was the best mark in all of basketball among players who played at least 30 games while defending at least two such shot attempts. Better than Chet Holmgren, better than Isaiah Stewart, better even than Victor Wembanyama.
That underlying statistic alone should be enough for the Suns to give Maluach a much larger role next season. The rumor mill as it relates to the Suns has shut down trade talks for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and, more recently, embattled Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant. So if the Suns’ plan for 2026-27 is to run back a similar roster, improvement will have to occur from within.
Fans shouldn’t expect Maluach to play at an All-Star caliber level like his former teammate in Flagg right away, but getting the big man from South Sudan more reps against NBA competition has to be the focus to raise this team’s ceiling.
