Game Day - Summer League Edition: Suns (2-1) @ Pistons (1-2), Wed 7/15/26

[O_Gardino]

Maluach, Fleming and Peat all look like their progressing pretty much according to plan.

I think there's going to be a lot of competition for minutes this year, especially if players stay healthy.

According to plan? Have you watched our rookies and sophomores historically in Summer League? It's as if their play was assumed to be as good as it's been. I think Peat and Maluach have been absolute surprises. I'm loving it.

Maluach was the #10 pick in the draft. This is the plan when you draft that high.

[Split T]

Dunn and Oso were good in summer league last year, but one of the big differences is they were good in ways that are different than how they play in the nba. They were aggressive and attacking off the dribble. They don’t do that kind of stuff in the nba(oso very rarely does).

Maluach was just doing the stuff he’s going to do in the nba. Screen and roll, screen and pop. Run the floor. Defend the rim.

Same with Fleming. He defended, he rebounded, he hit open shots. He flashed a little bit of a mid range creation game, but it seems far away.

I’m probably a little lower on Koa being able to do the stuff he did in the nba, but he has a great feel for the game and that usually translates.

I guess it’s just nice to see them succeeding in the role they will be playing in the NBA.

[TOO]

Anyone still questioning whether Maluach could be a dominant center?

Dominant is probably a stretch, but he can definitely give you a massive paint presence and stretch the floor, I can't really ask for much more than that. Walker Kessler with a 3 is basically max player nowadays

[iLLmatic]

Anyone still questioning whether Maluach could be a dominant center?

Let's not get the cart before the horse here, we still need to see him against NBA level talent for meaningful minutes. I'm definitely encouraged by what I'm seeing, it's certainly better than the alternative.

[ShelC]

Real good showing again from our main guys. Exactly what we've wanted to see from them in SL. Fleming came on with his shooting and was up and down the court. They talked about him guarding 1-5 which I think he's been doing well with overall. It's odd because to me he looks about 6-7 when he's down in the paint, but 6-9 when he's guarding the perimeter. His wingspan stands out tho in both instances. Whether or not we use him to guard PGs in the regular season remains to be seen but he's used his length well to really getting into the ballhandlers.

Kham is doing what he should be doing. I still need to see him do it against real comp but he's stepped up and made his presence felt in Vegas.

I've seen a bunch of comps for Peat but one I haven't seen is (a poor man's) Grant Hill, at least in terms of handling the ball and working in the midrange. He has some of those guard skills, plays at his own pace, always under control. He's more physical and built thicker and stronger than Hill so there's the benefit of having him play across the frontline. But from Game 1 he's looked like he belongs and hasn't needed to force anything or hunt for shots. He's someone I would've like to have seen get 20mpg because I think he can be a scorer with the 2nd unit and mix in with some starters but with our depth, I'm not sure.

[Superbone]

Pretty sure Jeremy still doubts that he can play more than 25 mpg.

You mean like he has surpassed in every summer league game?

[The Bobster]

Anyone still questioning whether Maluach could be a dominant center?

Dominant is probably a stretch, but he can definitely give you a massive paint presence and stretch the floor, I can't really ask for much more than that. Walker Kessler with a 3 is basically max player nowadays

I would guess his floor as a starter is something like 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks a game, which would be pretty impressive considering how raw he was.

If he continues to improve - He's got good size, good hands, is active, can rebound and block shots and is starting to build an offensive game. This year I would hope he splits the backup center minutes with Ighodaro. Next year I hope he's splitting the center position with Williams. In his 4th year he's got a pretty good chance to be the starter.

I'm thinking by 2028 there's going to be a lot of position battles - Williams/Maluach at C, Bridges/Fleming at PF, and Brooks/Peat at SF. Booker and Green have SG covered so I would think finding a long-term solution at PG should be their next objective.

[TOO]

Anyone still questioning whether Maluach could be a dominant center?

Dominant is probably a stretch, but he can definitely give you a massive paint presence and stretch the floor, I can't really ask for much more than that. Walker Kessler with a 3 is basically max player nowadays

I would guess his floor as a starter is something like 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks a game, which would be pretty impressive considering how raw he was.

If he continues to improve - He's got good size, good hands, is active, can rebound and block shots and is starting to build an offensive game. This year I would hope he splits the backup center minutes with Ighodaro. Next year I hope he's splitting the center position with Williams. In his 4th year he's got a pretty good chance to be the starter.

I'm thinking by 2028 there's going to be a lot of position battles - Williams/Maluach at C, Bridges/Fleming at PF, and Brooks/Peat at SF. Booker and Green have SG covered so I would think finding a long-term solution at PG should be their next objective.

A real PG would be delightful. Id settle for a good combo though in the Maxey/Castle mold, someone who you feel comfortable handling the ball when the pressure is cranked up to 10. I'll never feel that way with Booker and his wnba handle.

[Shabazz]

Anyone still questioning whether Maluach could be a dominant center?

Dominant is probably a stretch, but he can definitely give you a massive paint presence and stretch the floor, I can't really ask for much more than that. Walker Kessler with a 3 is basically max player nowadays

I would guess his floor as a starter is something like 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks a game, which would be pretty impressive considering how raw he was.

If he continues to improve - He's got good size, good hands, is active, can rebound and block shots and is starting to build an offensive game. This year I would hope he splits the backup center minutes with Ighodaro. Next year I hope he's splitting the center position with Williams. In his 4th year he's got a pretty good chance to be the starter.

I'm thinking by 2028 there's going to be a lot of position battles - Williams/Maluach at C, Bridges/Fleming at PF, and Brooks/Peat at SF. Booker and Green have SG covered so I would think finding a long-term solution at PG should be their next objective.

Things that have impressed me most about Maluach this summer:

1. His hands. Bad hands is often something bigs are cursed with throughout their careers. His ability to catch the ball in traffic (and not get stripped down low) seems much improved.
2. His effort. He runs the floor hard in both directions. All game. And he hasn't been running out of steam. It's awesome.
3. His defensive rebounding. This struck me as a weakness last year. While he looked like a strong offensive rebounder, his timing wasn't great on the defensive end and he could get pushed out of position easily. He's now pursuing defensive rebounds much more effectively and his improved strength has allowed him to maintain position.

[AmareIsGod]

2025 Summer League (his rookie summer, per Suns Summer League coach Chaisson Allen's own comparison):
- 10.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.0 combined steals+blocks
- 35.7% FG, 23.1% 3PT
- -13.0 plus/minus

2026 Summer League (this year, 4 games through July 15):
- 19.2 PPG, 12.8 RPG
- 50.0% FG, 40.0% 3PT, ~57.9% 2PT, 90.0% FT — a 50/40/90 split
- 2.0 BPG, 1.3 SPG (blocks/steals now broken out separately, rather than combined)
- Turnovers still a work in progress: 7 in the opener vs. Portland, then a clean 0 against New Orleans; he's called ball security his top personal focus this summer

That's roughly double the scoring and rebounding volume from last year, but the more meaningful jump is efficiency: going from a 35.7%/23.1% shooter to a 50/40/90 split is a real skill-level change, not just him getting easier looks. Turnovers are the one blemish that hasn't caught up yet.

G League (Valley Suns, 2025-26 rookie season, Tip-Off Tournament + regular season combined, 11 games):
- 16.5 PPG, ~12.5-12.8 RPG, 2.5 BPG, 1.0 APG (2.8 TOV)
- 53.8% FG, 26.7% 3PT on 2.7 attempts per game
- ~30 minutes per game, team-best +20 plus/minus

Interesting contrast: he was already a load in the G League as a rookie (near a 17/13 double-double with real shot volume), it just never translated into NBA minutes, he averaged only 3.0 points, 2.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes across 46 NBA games that same season. The G League numbers were the real signal that this Summer League breakout was coming, not a total surprise.

[Mori Chu]

Maluach had basically a perfect Summer League, was dominant in every game, and is being discussed as a possible SL MVP candidate (they have that??). Couldn't have asked for better from him. I am still trying to keep my expectations in check. I don't think he rushes out the court in regular season games and starts putting up double-doubles. We could probably throw him out there if we weren't focused on near-term wins. But we do want wins, and we probably won't give him enough minutes to let him fully develop. I do think he has shown that he's ready for more of a role and a regular rotation slot this coming season.

They need to figure out what role Oso will play if Maluach continues to improve. If ManMan is going to be our backup C, where does Oso get his minutes? I can imagine that in some games (B2Bs?) when Williams isn't playing for injury management, Oso and ManMan will be the center rotation, and both of them would get plenty of minutes. When all 3 centers are available, what's the rotation? I would have said Oso could slide to PF more, but we now have a semi-logjam there with Br****s, Brooks, and Fleming all wanting some/all of their minutes at the 4.

In that scenario, maybe Fleming is the odd man out. But I don't want that! I think if any of our youngs gets edged out for minutes, I'd reluctantly choose Oso. But our coach really loves Oso, so I kind of think Fleming and Dunn will be the guys whose minutes take a hit. We'll see.

[ShelC]

There's going to be a squeeze with someone at some point. We've actually acquired a lot of size and a variety of skillset, everything will just have to shake itself out. The easy answer is for Kham to be legit and maybe most importantly, he's a viable 3pt shooter which could help Oso get minutes at the 4. I think his passing and IQ are just too valuable to keep on the bench or trade away. Kham's 3pt shot could fix that spacing. I don't think Brooks should see much, if any, time at the 4. We have Bridges there and I'd rather see Peat or Fleming get those left over minutes.

[pickle]

I think this exercise on paper is wonderful but in the end injuries will make it easy.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

With Grayson and Royce gone, I think that Brooks is going to be the nominal SF, with Bridges attacking the paint as the PF.But who is taking the perimeter assignment on D between those two?

Beyond the minutes distribution, I hope they stagger minutes with Fleming and Dunn to see them defending the perimeter.

[virtual9mm]

If the Suns really end up having such a logjam at so many positions, the answer is simple -- don't re-sign Bridges. Or trade him for another expiring contract and draft capital if he's in such demand.

I am hoping Oso cones back with an improved jumper so he can be a viable PF.

[ShelC]

Bridges is here for the foreseeable future. He's Klutch, he's Michigan State, he's someone Ishbia's wanted for years. It's him, Booker, and Brooks for the next 3 years.

[virtual9mm]

Bridges is here for the foreseeable future. He's Klutch, he's Michigan State, he's someone Ishbia's wanted for years. It's him, Booker, and Brooks for the next 3 years.

You're probably right but it doesn't mean that I have to like it.

[Mori Chu]

If the Suns really end up having such a logjam at so many positions, the answer is simple -- don't re-sign Bridges.

IMO there's no way they give up so many assets to get Br****s just to ship him out or not-re-sign him a year later. I think they'll extend him soon and want to keep him here as part of our long-term core. We'll see.

[TOO]

Yeah, I don't believe that Bridges is going anywhere, he's just hitting his prime, fills a need and is a fairly productive player.

[INFORMER]

Anyone still questioning whether Maluach could be a dominant center?

He has certainly shown a lot in summer league to feed the fanbase's optimism.