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Khaman Maluach’s agent Rich Paul helped Suns land him 10th overall

Originally posted on Burn City Sports
By Tanner Tortorella | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 2:53 PM ET

One of the biggest surprises in the 2025 NBA draft was Duke’s Khaman Maluach falling in the lottery. The 7’2 center was a projected top-five prospect, with many draft boards have him falling to the 8th pick at the latest. However, the 18-year-old fell past all his projections and landed in the lap of the Phoenix Suns with the 10th pick. General manager Brian Gregory and his staff didn’t expect Maluach to be available at 10, especially with them trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams a few minutes beforehand.

Maluach falling to Phoenix seemed to be luck at first, but has now appeared to possibility be orchestrated by agent Rich Paul in a new video showing him talking to Suns owner Mat Ishbia.

Paul talking to Suns Ishbia about landing Maluach:

Rich Paul telling Suns owner Mat Ishbia he’s going to “make some calls” to make Khaman Maluach fall to the Suns at the 10th pick

(Via @Homecoming_Net)pic.twitter.com/rjdThLnWwl

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) June 29, 2025

Paul mentioned that Phoenix was his and Maluach’s first choice, much to the delight of Ishbia, with him saying he was going to “make some calls” to make him fall to 10th overall. The 44-year-old agent represents the top stars in the NBA, including Lebron James, and is known as one of the best in the league for delivering to his clients. Paul likely told teams like the Raptors, Nets, and others that Maluach had no interest in playing for them, leading to him falling to the Suns.

The Suns got a huge break of getting one of the best prospects in the draft with the help of Paul working behind the scenes. The addition of Maluach to this roster brings a lot of excitement for the potential of Phoenix’s defensive potential in 2025.

This article first appeared on Burn City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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