Welcome to Inside the Suns, a deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team, in which the Fantable — a roundtable of Bright Siders — give their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1: With Williams out injured, who do you give the Suns’ starting center job to?
zenzino: From many comments I’ve seen here, I think that Maluach is a little overestimated and Oso is a little underestimated. Currently, Oso is a better player. Period. Man Man might get the edge on rim protection, but Oso is overall a much better defender with better passing and basketball IQ. Currently.
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That being said, I would love it if the coaching staff deemed Man Man ready to start at the beginning of the season. He absolutely has a higher ceiling at the 5 than Oso. I will trust Ott to figure that out and won’t be unhappy if the season begins with Oso as the starter. I’ll just assume Man Man needs a little more time.
I prefer Oso off the bench, and not because I don’t think he’s good enough to start. I like Oso off the bench because I think Oso and CG are really, really good together, and them being part of the 2nd unit makes sense. Stephen at PHNX Suns did a great game tape breakdown video about the tandem, and it is definitely worth watching.
Ashton: I have maintained my stance multiple times that Oso was the firm backup center. Now, he is the Suns’ starting center. Yes, I know, many posters here want their shiny new toy in Khaman Muluch to start. But I am not one of those who believe in KM being the “Second Coming of Center Position” for the Suns. He just plain has to prove it first.
In order of depth chart:
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KM – The center, the savior
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Small Ball Forwards – of which there are many to utilize in a small ball C offensive scheme. This is where Sheer steps in.
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Koa Peat – Okay, I threw that last one in just to mess with you all. But no issues here if he gathers rebounds, draws fouls, and kicks to the outside shooter. But Koa is not a small-ball center. I just like to give him a shoutout when I can.
OldAz: This is an interesting question, as I could make the case for either one. Maluach provides more size and a more traditional center on defense, as well as more shooting on offense. But who is passing him the ball? On the other hand, his ability to step outside on offense provides more room for Green to get to the rim or Book to work to the mid-range. Oso also worked well last season with Gillespie in the second unit.
Despite all this and my repeated disparaging comments about Oso in the past, I think Oso may be the better fit in the starting lineup. He may be smaller and not provide much offense, but he serves as a connector/passer (point center) that could make for a more effective starting 5 overall. KM would also get to develop with more minutes against the other teams’ backups and would benefit from playing more with Gillespie.
My hope is that Ott uses the preseason and training camp to experiment and see which of these options actually works better, but I suspect he trusts Oso more and that he gives him every opportunity to win the job.
Rod: Going into the preseason games, I’d give the starting job to Oso, but give Khaman roughly equal minutes. If Khaman plays well, I’d flip the script after a few games and give him the starting job. If I were Ott, I’d make it perfectly clear to both of them that the starting spot for the regular season is up for grabs and whoever performs the best during the preseason games wins the job.
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My main worry is Khaman possibly getting into early foul trouble. Finding the correct balance of aggressiveness and caution on defense can be difficult for younger players, so this is something I’m going to be watching for during the preseason games. If he shows any tendency to get into foul trouble in the preseason, you know that the foul baiters will be hunting him on a regular basis once the regular season games begin.
Q: What do you think of the Duop Reath signing?
zenzino: The fact that this is a ‘training camp competition’ contract makes all the difference and makes it a ‘why not?’ move. We can speculate whether this is a Mark Williams move, a question about Highsmith’s health, or a little of both. I guess we’ll find out in training camp, which is almost here.
Regarding Duop Reath. He’s been around, playing all over the world, and even won a Bronze medal with the Australian team before landing in Portland.
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The good: He plays much bigger than he is, which is good because 6’9″ is definitely undersized for a center in today’s NBA. He can get hot from outside and could be a floor-spreading big. He has a very workmanlike mentality, which works well with the Suns’ culture they’re working to solidify.
The not so good: He’s not known for his defense, especially in space and team schemes. He’s not a strong rebounder, which is something the Suns definitely need from their bigs. He was quickly pushed to the end of the bench when the Blazers added Clingan and Hansen.
This is a small-margin move to compete for a spot. It all comes down to where the Suns think they need depth. Most assume Jamaree Bouyea will be the odd man out because of how many guards are on the roster. But every one of those guards was needed last season, and that is, in fact, how Bouyea won our hearts.
While not ideal for Reath, he could also be offered a two-way. This late in free agency, it doesn’t look like teams are beating down his door. I just wonder how much runway Kobe Brea and CJ Huntley are going to be given.
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I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Can you believe preseason is just over two weeks away?
Ashton: Every time I hear his name, I hear songs from big bands in the 1920’s. Duop Duop…Duop! Do not think this was lie. When I was 16, I was saddled with a crap Sunday radio shift that included a four-hour vinyl rendition of the big band hour. All I had to do was flip the record. I was asleep more often than not.
I am actually impressed that the Sun’s front office moved this quickly to address a need at the backup center position. Keep in mind that all NBA teams were scrambling to fill backup center positions in a trade market with more demand than available talent. Heck, look at the Lakers’ overpay for Walker Kessler as a starting center because “Thiccic” demanded it.
When Reath played Summer League with the Suns in 2022, there was quite a bit of commentary on the board to sign him to a two-way. Then he had a mini-encore breakout with Portland in 2023, who actually did sign the journeyman (and at 30 years old, his airline miles stacked up, making him a true Journey Man). But the next year, he suffered the dreaded injury that no one wants to hear from the center position. A foot fracture. Will Reath be healthy for 2026-27? The jury is out with me. Also, can he knock off the rust from not playing NBA basketball while he was recovering from surgery?
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Duop Reath was buried among a strong frontcourt at Portland. Add in that Rose City’s new owner, “El Cheapo,” sucks and can write a book about how to create a toxic environment while increasing franchise evaluation, and this could be the perfect change-of-scenery scenario for Duop. Okay, he was traded to Atlanta but never played a game and was waived quickly.
So, while I appreciate the depth addition, it really does not move the needle for me on the signing.
OldAz: I always loved him with Portland and what he brought to the game, and despite his age, I love the signing. I knew they needed a third center with Williams going down, but my only hope is that he is truly used as a third center for garbage time and to make sure Maluach and Oso do not get overworked. Maluach needs minutes and every opportunity to fail, learn, and grow. Having an effective third stringer has the potential to eat into Maluach’s minutes when he struggles, and what might be better is to let him struggle and work his way through it. While I love the signing, I really hope Ott navigates this well, with the primary focus being the long-term development of Maluach.
Rod: Reath is an interesting choice and not a move that I saw coming. I really wasn’t expecting the front office to do anything this quickly, but it wasn’t the first time Brian Gregory’s surprised me.
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If Reath actually makes the team, I don’t really see him getting many rotation minutes unless there’s an injury or Oso or Khaman gets into foul trouble, so I’m not expecting a lot from him. He does have a respectable three-point shot, though, which means that opponents can’t ignore him.
I’ve heard some fans propose using Fleming as the emergency/third-string center. While that would probably work, I’d rather have him concentrate on learning to play as a power forward in his second year instead of splitting his time between two different positions.
Overall, I like this addition, especially on a non-guaranteed contract. Can’t wait to see how it all works out in the preseason games.
Q3: How badly do you think the Williams injury will hurt the Suns overall?
zenzino: It doesn’t help. Mark’s absence for the last couple of months last season was a significant reason for the Suns’ unremarkable ending.
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We haven’t seen him in a minute, so it’s easy to forget how much he added to the team. He ran the floor really well and he got a lot of offensive rebounds and put-backs in a way that Man Man and Oso don’t. Even though Man Man gives us a 7-footer for rim protection, MW is a better overall defender and was much better at moving his feet. Even with a breakout Summer League, Man Man often found himself lost and out of place on defense.
That’s where more experience comes in. The upside is that, whether he starts or backs up Oso, there will definitely be a lot more playing time for Man Man.
I said it last Fantable, and there were objections: get ready for small ball. Especially being down to a two-center rotation, the Suns will be playing lineups with Bridges and even Sheer at the 5, and load up on guards.
Ashton: Did you take the over on the Suns’ season projections on early odds with betting sites? You are going to sweat that bet a little bit more. I just double-checked, and the Suns actually went up a game to 40.5 in total overall wins (DraftKings). I think the loss of Mark Williams is going to be bigger than expected, but apparently, the gambling sites do not think so. I recently predicted on the Fantable that 40 wins sounded about right in the topsy-turvey West, so start considering the under.
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I think the impact of losing Mark Williams will be bigger than expected, leaving two centers that could use more time off the bench, who are now thrust into starting roles. Teams will exploit this, and I think Sun fans are going to be seeing more small-ball than they ever have seen before. That is not good.
Look, Williams was hardly the savior in the post, but he was consistent and was certainly missed in the 2025 playoffs. His absence does not make the regular season win total dire, but it will lead to Coach Ott having to come up with some creative line-up solutions. Basically, I expect a different style of play from the “center butterfly effect”.
OldAz: I don’t think it makes a huge impact on their ceiling or their floor. Maybe a couple of games when it is all said and done, and that could be a lot in the tight Western conference, but I don’t think it drops them out of the playoffs entirely. I really like Williams when he is healthy because of his hustle and defensive presence. When paired with another decent forward last season (like when Brooks was healthy), he did well in anchoring the defense. I was hoping for more improvement there with the increased size across the front line.
Now the Suns will be reliant on KM to fill those shoes. Long term, that may be a blessing, but it could be a bumpy ride as he develops. However, with Oso, KM, and now Reath on board, the drop-off in center play is certainly not enough to make that big a difference in their record by the time he comes back and gets back into playing shape.
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Rod: I honestly think that depends on how quickly Khaman Maluach adapts to playing meaningful minutes with the big boys. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, his play will determine how much the absence of Williams will hurt the team. We already know about Oso, and I expect him to be a solid contributor, but Maluach is the wild card in the center rotation. If he adapts quickly, they may not miss Williams at all. If not, the Suns could get off to a slow start.
And now the Suns have added another wild card into the mix by signing Reath to a make-good, training camp contract. He may not even make it past preseason, but he could be a solid contributor in certain situations because he adds a credible three-point threat to the center rotation.
Williams will be missed, but I don’t think his absence will have a huge impact on team success unless Khaman can’t handle playing a bigger role.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Suns Trivia/History
On September 20, 2000, the Suns were involved in the third-largest trade in NBA history, a twelve-player, 4-team deal between the New York Knicks, Seattle SuperSonics, L.A. Lakers, and Phoenix Suns.
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In the trade, New York got Glen Rice, Travis Knight, and a first-round pick from LA; Vladimir Stepania, Lazaro Borrell, Vernon Maxwell, a first-round pick, and two second-round picks from Seattle; and Luc Longley from Phoenix. Seattle got Patrick Ewing from New York. LA got Horace Grant, Chuck Person, Greg Foster, and Emanuel Davis from Seattle. Phoenix got Chris Dudley and a first-round pick from New York.
There were a lot of moving parts in that trade, but essentially the Suns got Chris Dudley and a 1st round draft pick for… Luc Longley. Longley’s career stats for his 2 years as a Sun were 7.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.6 blocks per game.
On September 22, 2017, the Suns signed former number 1 draft pick (2013) Anthony Bennett to a 1-year non-guaranteed contract. Bennett, one of the biggest number 1 pick busts in NBA history, lasted only 19 days with the Suns before being waived on Oct. 11.
On this day, they also traded a 2018 second-round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for Troy Daniels and a 2018 second-round draft pick (which did not convey). Daniels played 2 seasons for the Suns, averaging 39.4% from three, playing mostly off the bench. Troy’s best game for the Suns was on December 13, 2017, when he led the team in scoring, putting up 32 points (off the bench) in a losing effort (115-109) against the Toronto Raptors.
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On September 23, 1994, after signing Danny Manning and Wayman Tisdale, the Phoenix Suns traded SF Cedric Ceballos to the LA Lakers for a 1995 first-round draft pick (Michael Finley). Ceballos led the NBA in FG% at 57.6% in 1992-93 and had career highs in scoring and rebounding with 19.1 ppg and 6.5 rpg in 1993-94.
Important Future Dates
Sept. 28 – Media Day
Sept. 29 – Training Camp opens
Oct. 5 – Suns @ Pistons (preseason) 4:00 PM
Oct. 7 – Suns @ Bulls (preseason) 5:00 PM
Oct. 10 – Suns vs. Spurs (preseason) 7:00 PM (ESPN2)
Oct. 14 – Suns @ Spurs (preseason) 5:00 PM
Oct. 16 – Suns vs. Jazz (preseason) 7:00 PM
Oct. 20 – 2026-27 NBA Season Begins
Dec. 15 – Most players signed to new contracts can be traded
Jan. 5 – 10-day contracts may now be signed
Jan. 10 – All NBA contracts are guaranteed for the remainder of the season
Jan. 15 – All players signed to new contracts can be traded
Feb. 11 – Trade Deadline
Feb. 19-21 – NBA All-Star 2027
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