Struggles of prized Suns' rookie at Summer League no cause for concern

Through three Las Vegas Summer League games for the Phoenix Suns, there has been a lot to like about what the young players are going to bring to the franchise next season. Ryan Dunn is having the kind of performance you love to see from a second year player, while Oso Ighodaro has also had moments where he has shined on both ends of the court.

Really though it is the rookies who are of most interest to Suns fans, after the team acquired three of them in the Kevin Durant deal. Koby Brea has started life as a professional the best of the three, although Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Maluach have also had moments worth watching in Vegas.

Early offensive woes of Maluach were always going to happen.

What has really been apparent however has been just how raw center Maluach is, and this was really on show in their recent loss to the Sacramento Kings. Nobody cares about the scorelines at the end of these contests, but Maluach finishing with a minus 14 on the game - to go with only eight points and five rebounds - was disappointing.

But if you've watched Maluach so far then you will know that offensively he is extremely limited in what he can do outside of using his big body to get to the rim. He has no go-to jump shots, while even his shots in the paint that aren't layups or dunks also look clunky. Just because some of these have gone in, does not mean they'll be acceptable come the regular season.

Maluach was always viewed as a long-term project on that end however, which is why this is not a problem. Early on he is going to earn his minutes by feeding off the space and scraps that playing alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green can afford him. He will not be hearing his name called for plays frequently as he figures out his spots to get to.

Defensively it is a different story - and although the Kings had no problem scoring when Maluach was on the court - it is already clear what he has to work on and what the Suns must put around him to excel. The 18-year-old is reasonably quick, but he is not comfortable leaving the paint for fear of being beaten off the dribble by opponents.

The Kings simply moved the ball around Maluach, and he didn't have the teammates to combat this. It will be a different story when both Dunn and Dillon Brooks are out there alongside him, which will allow him to patrol the paint more confidently. Other bigs will still have their moments against him, but Maluach also has one key skill working in his favor.

Unlike the plodding Jusuf Nurkic of before, there's a lateral quickness and nimble way he can move when defending opponents inside that is exactly why the franchise valued him so much. The Suns will just have to live with the slower progress he is going to make offensively and learning the pick-and-roll game, because the defensive tools are there. Some rough nights ahead, but to be expected.