There is no doubt that Phoenix Suns’ head coach Jordan Ott has had a wonderful start to his career with the franchise.
He quickly brought to this roster a culture and defensive mindset that has been personified by Dillon Brooks and (eventually) led to a surprise postseason appearance.
Coach Ott should have played rookies more in regular season
But if there is one thing he would surely change as he faces elimination at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, then it is surely how little he ultimately used the rookies at his disposal during the regular season.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it was clear throughout the campaign that leaning on the veterans was leading to results. Guys like Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, Jamaree Bouyea and even Mark Williams turning in career years.
You have to let young players play through their mistakes and take the losses that come with it, and the Suns are paying for the lack of reps for their youngsters right now with other players unavailable.
OKC is 4th in the league in drives at 55 per game.
— Xin Varlock (@XinNBA) April 19, 2026
If Jordan Ott doesn’t play Khaman Maluach — statistically the best rim protector in the NBA — this is going to be a layup line.
Play Maluach significant minutes. Dare the Thunder to shoot.#SunsUp
All of a sudden 19-year-old center Khaman Maluach (who averaged 8.9 minutes per game in the regular season) is being asked to stay out there for 19 minutes against the defending champion Thunder. He’s doing what he can, but is also a raw prospect who is still lacking in reps.
Injuries to Williams, Goodwin and Grayson Allen are the reason why Maluach is suddenly being called upon, while Rasheer Fleming has also gotten more playing time than would have been expected.
The fact he hasn’t looked fazed out there has been a nice bonus for the Suns, but that is nowhere near enough to be competitive.
Perhaps if they’d played more than the 101 games combined (two starts) they would be of more use right now, although in the case of Maluach he admittedly looks like a long-term prospect who is going to take years to be a regular contributor.
Coach Ott looks to have gotten caught between immediate results and making a splash with his new employers, and thinking long-term about the roster he wants to compete with. There is nothing wrong with going with the former, this is a results based business after all.
But with Devin Booker not 100%, Jalen Green not having the offensive impact envisioned and Brooks already doing everything he can, perhaps giving Maluach and Fleming 25 minutes each in Washington or Utah four months ago wouldn’t have been such a bad idea.
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