What a difference a year can make. It was only 12 months ago that the Phoenix Suns were moving on from Kevin Durant and paying Bradley Beal a lot of money to depart The Valley for good.
Which is why their Summer League showing out in Las Vegas has been so much fun to watch. Coming off an unexpected playoff berth, the team has succeeded in getting younger and more fun to root for.
Suns appear to have nailed last two draft picks to accelerate re-tool
None of this would have been possible without the franchise finally getting some important draft picks right, and they appear to have done that twice in successive seasons. Center Khaman Maluach was looking like the Summer League MVP before the Suns decided to shut him down for the final four games.
A smart choice as the 19-year-old gives his own front office some difficult choices to make in the wake of bringing back Mark Williams as well.
He will continue to be brought along slowly, but right now Phoenix looks like they have their center of the future secured. Easily their best prospect at the position since former first overall pick Deandre Ayton. This is massively significant in trying to build another winner around Devin Booker in the next few years.
The jump Maluach has made from rookie season to Las Vegas has been clear for all to see, and although that cannot be the case for incoming rookie Koa Peat, drafting the bustling forward looks to have been a smart piece of business.
The Suns moving up into the end of the first round to take him, and so far he has been the Aaron Gordon type that this group has badly needed inside. The former Arizona standout saying that he was going to use Summer League to focus on improving one of his best skills in offensive rebounding should tell you all you need to know about what he will bring next season.
The front office managed to get a pair of starters in Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green in the Durant trade last year. Maluach came across as part of the package from the Houston Rockets, and right now his ascension to future starter looks promising.
The futire of Brooks in The Valley is up in the air but talk of an extension has been put out there, which makes sense for all involved. Peat is waiting in the wings already for a bigger chance, and the Suns already seeing so much potential in their last two first round draft picks is brilliant for their future.
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