The Phoenix Suns made one move at the deadline in order to save money, although they did also get a player in Amir Coffey who can help them for the rest of the campaign.
They also have an open roster spot currently, and with former trade target Jeremy Sochan suddenly available, they could add one more player for a playoff push yet.
Coach Ott ready to use Khaman Maluach down the stretch
The Suns were hammered by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, falling 136-109 at home, and head coach Jordan Ott actually gave fans an insight into how he is going to use this roster moving forward.
With Nick Richards having been moved to the Chicago Bulls at the deadline, the Suns were in need of a big man to step in and soak up some of his minutes.
Guerschon Yabusele was floated as a low key solution ahead of the deadline, but he ironically ended up going to Chicago himself and now has, you guessed it, Richards backing him up.
Instead it is rookie Khaman Maluach who looks like he is going to finally get a chance to show what he can do, with coach Ott giving him 12 minutes in the loss to the Thunder.
I'd advise you to not sell your Khaman Maluach stock. pic.twitter.com/5kPXznWb5U
— Erik Ruby (@ErikRuby) February 12, 2026
This was significant, because the Suns decided that the defending champions were the right opponent to see what the 19-year-old could do (he's managed just 4.7 minutes in 23 appearances so far this season).
Although he remains incredibly raw, all that work in the G League is starting to pay off. The offensive package is in no way consistent, but he will find points through effort plays and putbacks.
Really though it was the defensive upside that had Phoenix draft him in the first place, and as you can see from the video above there were moments to enjoy.
Maluach managing to do a decent job of staying in front of smaller and quicker players, while his ability to bang inside is what will eventually earn him the starting role here.
Maluach isn't yet a better player than Richards, but he's certainly more imposing so you can understand the logic in letting him be the understudy to Mark Williams.
Having Richards as the backup put a ceiling on how good this team can be, whereas the South Sudanese big man brings an element of the unknown right now.
But to see their lottery pick begin to get meaningful reps, and for it not to blow up in his face immediately, is exactly why coach Ott did this. He believes in his young center.