Summer League basketball begins tonight for the Phoenix Suns, and with it comes the annual exercise of managing expectations. We want answers, we want progress, and we want to believe that the young players the Phoenix Suns are sending to Las Vegas will return looking a little more comfortable, a little more confident, and a little closer to becoming the players this organization needs them to be.
Personally, I’m most interested in Rasheer Fleming. He will almost certainly see an increase in minutes this upcoming season, which makes his progression important to the overall health of this roster. I want to see him look more comfortable on the floor, be more decisive, and more aware of where he needs to be and what he needs to do when he gets there.
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I’m tempering expectations because, ultimately, these games don’t count. That doesn’t mean they don’t matter. Development is a pillar of this organization, and progression is paramount. When you’re trying to build something sustainable, the growth of your young players becomes one of the most important variables in the equation. And the cheapest. You must have quality youth to be competitive in the Apron Era of the NBA.
I’m not surprised that the majority of the community believes Khaman Maluach is the player who needs to showcase the most improvement. 64% of the Bright Side community believes this is true. After all, he’s a lottery pick. Quite possibly the last lottery pick the Suns will make for nearly half a decade. With that comes the weight of expectations, whether people are comfortable admitting it or not.
That became a topic of conversation on the infamous Suns Twitter this week. Dave Burns of Arizona Sports 98.7 said that by this time next year, we need to know that Khaman Maluach can provide quality NBA minutes, or it might be time to panic.
“I need Khaman Maluach to play more than he did,” Burns said of Maluach. “I think it’s imperative that Khaman Maluach, by the end of the season, you can see it. You can start to see it happening with him. And if it hasn’t happened by the end of the season, brother, it is panic time.”
Of course, the comment…
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Publish date : 2026-07-10 12:00:00
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