We know, we know... we were the ones who said that you should never read too much into Summer League play. Not only that, but we gave Khaman Maluach, ahead of his second season in the NBA, the perfect out for when he did not perform well.
Only the 19-year-old has played way better than expected, posting impressive stat lines no matter the result and looking extremely comfortable out there.
Suns bringing back Mark Williams complicates picture for Maluach
Obviously Maluach should not be starting games for the Phoenix Suns any time soon, and the franchise should be applauded for bringing him along slowly. At a time when they are on the clock with Devin Booker to try and win now, the South Sudanese big man has felt zero pressure to contribute.
But what the Suns have also done in bringing Williams back on a three-year, $38 million contract is add an injury-prone player who could still be hard to move down the road who expects to start and is in the way of Maluach's development.
Khaman Maluach is 7'2 and shooting 50/40/90 in the Summer League 🤯
— Underdog (@Underdog) July 15, 2026
He's also averaging 18.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, and 3.7 STOCKS pic.twitter.com/7FmkrPQhRb
Again, this is not Maluach's time to assume a starting role. But already you can see the 8.9 minutes he managed in his rookie campaign is going to be built upon, while time spent in the G League is sure to decrease as well.
This is because the center is playing with a confidence out in Las Vegas that we did not expect to see at this stage. Given how shaky he was last season, he is now carrying himself like a big who went toe-to-toe with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs and lived to tell the tale.
Would the smarter move out of Phoenix have been to let Williams walk, and then figure out another big to add to the rotation who would move out of the way as Maluach ascended? That's tricky, both because you're then losing an asset (and trade) for Williams only one year removed from making it happen, while backup centers are hard to come by.
Jonas Valančiūnas just headed back to Europe, while former Sun Jock Landale received $14 million from the Atlanta Hawks to return for only one season.
The Suns simply don't have that kind of money to go out and add a player in free agency, so you can understand the decision to keep Williams.
Only he's going to want to play as much as possible to secure his own long-term future in the league, at a time when Maluach looks like he is ahead of schedule. A good problem for the organization to have, but a problem nonetheless.
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