Oso Ighodaro is an NBA-caliber talent. He played a pivotal role for the Suns in his sophomore season, playing all 82 games, with the Suns posting a 5.4 NETRTG with him on the floor (versus a -1.8 NETRTG with him off).
That being said, there are still plenty of questions surrounding his future in the NBA. He's almost an NBA anomaly as a somewhat undersized big with a very limited scoring arsenal, while also being an extremely versatile defender, a solid screener, and a smart offensive decision-maker.
This mix-matched skillset is most closely comparable to future NBA Hall of Famer Draymond Green, but even then, there are still substantial differences between their size and shooting ability.
What is most comparable between the two, though, is that they are essentially positionless players, especially in Draymond's case, spending much of his career switching between playing the 4 and 5.
Oso's future should not be at center
Although he spent 97% of his minutes at center this season (according to Basketball Reference), that parallel to Draymond Green is what Oso's future will need to look like with the Suns.
His matchup dependency when playing center, which was exposed in Phoenix's playoff matchup against Oklahoma City, cannot allow him to be a full-time center in the NBA.
However, he has yet to take a single jumpshot in his NBA career, and his 49.1 FT% for his career does not signal any ability to expand his range beyond the paint, so it's impossible to envision him as a full-time power forward, either.
Despite these roadblocks, he's a unique, difference-making talent that the Suns need to take full advantage of, so he may need to remain as a positionless mystique. What that means is, they will need to build their lineups and roster around his skillset.
He can play center, but if he's at center, he will need some size and shooting next to him, like Rasheer Fleming, for example. If he moves to the 4, he needs a floor-spacing, rim-protecting 5 next to him, like Khaman Maluach, for example.
Suns' future at center is still unclear
Before even considering Oso's future role, the Suns will need to figure out what their future at the 5 will even look like. With the impending restricted free agency for Suns starting center Mark Williams, the Suns will essentially be making that decision this offseason.
It really all comes down to how Suns management views Khaman Maluach. If he's believed to be NBA-ready and the Suns' future at center, then they could let Williams walk, clearing up some cap room and making way for Ighodaro and Maluach to take on bigger roles.
If not, the Suns could prioritize keeping Williams in The Valley this summer, giving them their starting center back, but also creating an awkward playing time situation between the three bigs, potentially hindering the development of Khaman Maluach.
The floor and ceiling for Oso with the Suns
Ultimately, Oso Ighodaro has already proven that he's here to stay in the NBA; the only question is, in what capacity?
His floor is what he is now: a reliable backup (somewhat matchup-dependent) center that will provide around 20 solid minutes every night. There's still plenty of value in a player like that.
When evaluating his ceiling, hopes can get lofty. Hopefully, he can be a Draymond Green-esque player that can be the connecting piece for a future championship-contending Suns team. Maybe he can even further mimic Draymond's game by adding a jumpshot to his skillset.
A 6' 11" athlete with the basketball IQ he has will always have a place in the NBA, and realistically, the sky is the limit if the pieces all fall in the right places. He and the Suns will just need to figure out how best to do that.
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