The Phoenix Suns made a pair of smart offseason moves in signing bigs Duop Reath and Drew Timme to two-way contracts, but if you dig a little deeper, you will see that the fact they could end up playing regularly for the franchise as they try to win a playoff series is worrying proof that their center rotation remains a serious area of concern.
Suns still don't have reliable starting center
The team's best big man is Mark Williams, whom they signed to a three-year, $38 million extension on his rookie contract this summer. He will miss most of the campaign after requiring shoulder surgery, and although the Suns could likely still move him down the road if required, that is a bad place to start.
Behind him is a pair of bigs who are battling it out to start on opening night, even if the reality is that the Suns would be better off if this were not the case. Oso Ighodaro is blossoming into a real success story as a former second-round pick and is more than deserving of his recent extension. But he's not even a traditional five and is being paid to produce at a backup level.
He will have moments with this extended run in the team, but long-term his best use will be backing up the forward or center position. Then there is Khaman Maluach, who has received the kind of push that WWE superstars dream of early in their career. Media day was all about how much progress he has already made, but at 20 years old, he remains incredibly raw. Maluach is not ready to start and could be years away from consistently performing.
This is why the front office had to go out and add a player in Reath who had some nice moments with the Portland Trail Blazers a few seasons back but is also a third-string center at best. The fact that he could be asked to play backup, and potentially even more if the Suns are struck by injury, is a scary prospect, as they want to improve on the 45 wins of last season.
The same is also true of Timme, a role player whose addition only proves what little room for error the Suns have at that position. Both could be viewed as an upgrade over Drew Eubanks or Mason Plumlee, but that is hardly cause for celebration.
Suns will be in world of trouble if Maluach fails to develop
It feels like the organization is signing veterans on short-term deals to tide them over until Maluach is ready to dominate every night. There is every reason to believe that this will eventually happen, but until then, the likes of Reath and Timme will be asked to do more of the heavy lifting than they should.
That's concerning when you consider Devin Booker is about to turn 30 and the Suns are trying to make the most of his prime. Names like Duop Reath and Drew Timme are surely not what he had in mind when he pictured contending in The Valley, but until one of their other bigs can take a genuine leap, it is going to have to do.
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