Suns top draft pick selected as biggest loser in Summer League

Wasserman on Suns Maluach shortcomings:

“The No. 10 pick struggled offensively and averaged 4.0 fouls in just 23.3 minutes.

“It was fun and encouraging to see Maluach get off 13 three-point attempts after only taking 16 all season at Duke. He’s clearly not ready to be a regular threat from outside, though. And while the size, length and movement remain functional for finishing lobs and protecting the rim, summer league showed his rawness and lack of physicality around the post.”

Suns Summer League head coach DeMarre Carroll wanted Maluach to shoot plenty of 3-pointers to get him comfortable from shooting from deep. Maluach shot 4.3 attempts per game from the perimeter, but only shot 23% with the increased amount of attempts. The South Sudan native proved his offensive game is still a massive work in progress, with also struggling to use his 7’2 frame to score in the post or paint.

One of Maluach’s biggest strength was his rim protection, seen as the best defensive center in this draft class. However, the former Blue Devil seemed a step behind when contesting opposing drive attempts, with his lateral movement not at the place to face other NBA big men.

The newest Suns center still has plenty of time to work on that aspect of his game before the start of next season in October. His offensive game is still far away from being where the coaching staff want from Maluach, but his sheer size will help him out overcome some of his shortcomings defensively that he illustrated in Summer League.