What boxes should Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koa Peat check in Summer League?

The Phoenix Suns have four draft picks from the past two seasons participating in their 2026 NBA Summer League.

Khaman Maluach has pressure on him to make a statement after going 10th overall in the 2025 draft. Rasheer Fleming’s flashes as a rookie leading into a strong Summer League could propel him straight into the Suns’ regular season rotation.

Koby Brea does the one thing the rest of the Suns’ roster doesn’t — shooting — while local fans will have eyes drawn to rookie Koa Peat after he fell down the draft board to his hometown NBA squad.

Here’s a quick dive into each of those players and what we’re watching most intently starting Friday night.

Rasheer Fleming’s Summer League hopes: Will the shooting hold up?

Maybe it’s not fair to still be skeptical of Fleming’s outside shot. Fleming went 4-of-11 (36%) last Summer League, then during the entire regular season hit 35% while taking 60% of his total shots from beyond the arc.

But that improving is going to make him a jumbo power forward who can shoot, which NBA Finals hero OG Anunoby has built a career on.

There was enough development as a rookie to make his shooting success the standout skill to find playing time in a rotation that this coming season will include Miles Bridges, Dillon Brooks and Peat.

Arguably, it’s the one player’s one skill on Phoenix’s entire roster that could swing the team’s season.

Can Fleming play down at the 3 to roll in lineups alongside Bridges? Can he go to the 5 with a smallball unit?

We saw enough evidence he can defend at an elite level in the frontcourt. He added weight this offseason. Some more reps against smaller guards would be interesting to watch in Las Vegas.

But the shooting will unlock more opportunities for him on a roster that is severely lacking there. That is why we’re starting with Fleming in this exercise over Maluach and Peat.

Khaman Maluach’s Summer League hopes: Big-boy box scores

Maluach’s rawness as a rookie lottery pick could be predicted by his lack of outright production at Duke. Then in three Summer League games as a rookie, he produced 10.0 points (35.7% shooting), 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23 minutes per game.

He needs to play heavier minutes and do more with those minutes in his second year.

That is an obvious and easy sign that progress has been made after a disappointing rookie season when evaluating him next to his draft slot.

If that is 1A on the list of boxes to check, then 1B is Maluach being a step faster. We’re not talking physicality as much as being in the right space, which would indicate he’s mentally caught up to what he’s being asked to do as a rim-protector.

Last Summer League and into the season, he was either in the wrong spots on defense or taking too much time on offense. That showed in whether he was begged by a guard to set a screen, and from there knowing where to slip a screen and when to roll.

Simply put, Maluach’s physical improvements we saw from last offseason to the playoffs should translate to the box score and beyond.

Koa Peat’s Summer League hopes: Offensive role player juice

There’s a good chance Peat will be a plus rebounder, even if Maluach is gobbling up boards himself.

I would also bet his offensive limitations will stick out if 1) his shot’s still a work in progress and 2) better NBA athletes force him to take a week in Vegas or longer to adjust to. He’s no longer going to bully people.

But even if the shot is surprising us, Peat’s ceiling will be dictated by what else he provides on offense. Can he be an elite connector? With more space and driving lanes, can he be used in short-roll situations or weakside catch-and-go plays to take a dribble or two into space and then spray the ball out?

The Aaron Gordon comparisons come because he came out of Arizona and there’s elite role player potential. Gordon came out with 99% certainty he would become one of the best NBA defenders. Peat doesn’t have that juice, but he is similar to Gordon in how plug-and-play he’ll be in most any system as an offensive teammate.

Koby Brea’s Summer League hopes: Capable defense is all we ask

At present, it does not appear likely Brea ends up vying for playing time with the NBA team off the bat.

There are too many guys ahead of him. But if there is one worry about Phoenix’s roster, it’s that down years for just a couple of players from the shooting front could tank this team’s playoff hopes. They flat out don’t have enough elite shooters, and we saw that crop up when Grayson Allen on one leg changed the complexion of the court spacing late in the first-round sweep by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

We don’t have to worry that Brea will get 3-point shots up. His splits were much better in the NBA (13-of-30 shooting for 43%) than in the G League (35%), as he had more volume and the ball in his hands more in the latter.

There is a foreseeable scenario where the Suns are eager to get him in the rotation just to give them a 3-point threat.

If he shows something as an NBA-capable defender, Jordan Ott will want to play him using the slightest excuse.

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