RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 21: Khaman Maluach #9 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts during the … More
There’s no getting around it: Duke center Khaman Maluach is an enormous human being, and his size is certainly on the radar for all lottery teams.
But more so than his 7’2 frame and 7’7 wingspan, teams are intrigued at how the big man can produce for them moving forward.
Offensive skill set
At Duke, Maluach was often an offensive afterthought who played off Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, primarily as a dunking spot center.
Yet, there’s more to his game than being just a grab and dunk player. Not only did Maluach convert on over 71% of his shot attempts from the floor, but he cashed in on almost 77% of his free throws, a major indicator of additional shooting upside.
If Maluach becomes a pick and pop option, as well as being a strong interior finisher, his offensive applicability grows exponentially, which should further entice teams.
That said, the 18-year-old is not yet much of a passer, so it would seem too optimistic to expect him to become an offensive hub, at least not until he’s much deeper into his NBA career.
As such, the best presumed role for the South Sudanese national is that of play finisher, which covers a wide variety of scoring options. Be that as a floor spacer, interior threat, or something in-between.
Defensive upside
As for the other end of the floor, Maluach is further back, but not to a point where one has to have great concern.
While not much of a leaper, Maluach is so huge, he can live off his size in the initial years of his career, until he learns timing, rotation patterns, and perfects the rule of verticality.
He won’t block as many shots as, say, Victor Wembanyama, but he should be good enough at challenging shots that opposing players will think twice about attacking him head-on.
As for his rebounding, it’s not elite, but he’s not poor in that department whatsoever. He grabbed 11.2 rebounds per 36 minutes at Duke, a reasonable number for someone who isn’t yet 19, and who’s still trying to fully understand the significance of his own size.
Overall thoughts
Maluach is a player several teams should have interest in, and for teams in dire need of a rock solid center with All-Star potential, he might even be worth some trade-up squeeze.
A team like the Chicago Bulls, who should seriously consider trading Nikola Vučević, would benefit greatly from a fresh start with a high-level talent, who can help shape their future. But given they’re picking 12th, it seems unrealistic he’s available at that time.
Therefore, it’s behoove a franchise like them to make some aggressive phone calls.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
