Suns Rookie Among Summer League's Top Disappointments

The Phoenix Suns are hoping to get a lot of production out of teenage center Khaman Maluach, who was chosen with the No. 10 overall pick out of Duke in last month's NBA Draft.

Maluach is a project for the Suns. Despite being one of the top 10 picks in the draft, Maluach is very raw and he might not be the most playable person on the roster out of the gate.

The Athletic insider John Hollinger listed Maluach as one of the top disappointments from the Las Vegas Summer League.

"Could the Suns have done what Atlanta did and walked away from the draft with an unprotected future first from the Pelicans and the 23rd pick instead of staying at No. 10? Discussion over whether Phoenix fumbled the bag by not taking the New Orleans offer will only heighten if Maluach can’t give the Suns a quality big," Hollinger wrote.

"Phoenix opted to take the Duke project, and I’ll emphasize the word “project” here; his was a rough entry to professional basketball. The 7-1 Maluach only posted a 13.5 percent rebound rate, took nearly half his shots from 3 and had one assist in 70 minutes. Watching from courtside made me more concerned about his hands, as contested rebounds and alley-oop opportunities escaped him at times."

Maluach didn't put his best foot forward during Summer League, but that shouldn't define what he will be able to do when he starts with the Suns in the fall.

Maluach will learn from his mistakes in Las Vegas in hopes of getting better over the course of the offseason.

If Maluach can get better during the summer and come to training camp refocused and ready to go, the Suns could find some playing time for him behind Nick Richards and Mark Williams.