Subscribe
Follow Us
The Phoenix Suns will enter the new season with an overhauled roster, cutting short their era with superstar forward Kevin Durant to move in a different direction.
All-Star guard Devin Booker will now carry most of the cudgels for the Suns, who received talented youngster Jalen Green and veteran forward Dillon Brooks in the complex seven-team trade that sent Durant to the Houston Rockets.
Also part of the package from the Rockets is rookie center Khaman Maluach, who was drafted 10th overall. While he didn't expect to land in Phoenix after being picked by Houston, he's happy with his situation.
He also shared a story of his first encounter with Booker during the 2024 Paris Olympics, during which the Suns star played for Team USA while Maluach suited up for South Sudan.
“He was at a dinner and I was at a dinner room and I got to meet him there,” said Maluach in a video posted by Suns reporter Duane Rankin.
“He told me, ‘See you next year.' But he's probably telling me, like, see you next year in the NBA.”
"He was at a dinner and I was at a dinner. I got to meet him there."
Khaman Maluach on meeting Devin Booker in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now they're Suns teammates.
"He told me see you next year, but he was probably telling me like, see you next year in the NBA." #Suns pic.twitter.com/hUO1tRN0jf
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) July 8, 2025
Now, in a sudden twist of fate, they're teammates. After starring at Duke alongside fellow rookies Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, the 18-year-old Maluach will possibly come off the bench behind another new Suns acquisition, Mark Williams.
While there will surely be rookie mistakes for Maluach, he's eager to learn from his teammates as he navigates the NBA as a teenager.
“It's great, it's fun being able to be around these guys every day. Guys who have been here for a year now like Oso (Ighodaro) and Ryan (Dunn), it's just amazing to be around them, get to learn from them, and get to ask them questions about their rookie years too,” said Maluach, who was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team in his one-and-done stint with the Blue Devils.
He is expected to suit up in the Suns' first assignment in the NBA Summer League on July 11 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
