The sun head coach Jordan Ott is taking his time on a decision on his starting center, telling reporters Thursday that he wants to “let the preseason play out” before making a decision “a couple of days” before the team’s regular season opener on Oct. 21. Haman Maluach or Very Igadara will get the nod instead of the injured big man Mark Williamshow Dwayne Rankin of the Arizona Republic relay.
U a separate storyRankin investigates how a text message from Maluah to a teammate Devin Booker led to the duo working together in the offseason.
“He’s been doing this for a long time and he has a lot of tools or a lot of things that I can learn from him as a center.” Maluach said of Booker. “As a young center, I can just go to him and just ask him what should I do in this situation because he’s the type of player in the NBA that’s going to see different coverage every day or shine every game. So just being able to be around and make it easier for him. Ask him, ‘Where should I throw you the ball, what do you want me to do in this situation?’
“…He himself is like a coach. I learned a lot from him, a lot because coaches don’t see what he sees as a player when he’s flashed.”
We have more from the Pacific:
- The necklaces center Damantas Sabonis is coming off a rough year in which he was limited to 19 games by a knee injury and was the subject of frequent trade rumors. However, he said this week that he felt “100%” and insisted he had no problem shutting down the trade chatter, according to Jonny Askovnis of Eurohoops. “Easy. Everything is made up” Sabonis responded to a question about how he deals with the distraction of trade speculation. “It’s all there. I don’t know where you get most of it from. I’m over there with (the general manager) Scott (Perry)with my agent so I’m not on social media that much.’
- The necklaces head coach Doug Christie essentially entering a contract year — while his contract technically runs through the 2027/28 season, the final year is a team option. So what will Christie have to do in 26/27 to get an extension? Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee suggests the third-year coach will be judged more on the team’s competitiveness and the culture he creates than his win-loss record.
- After without discussing Dalton Knecht during the first few days of camp, Lakers head coach Jay Jay Reddick said Thursday that the third-year wing has “put in the work” this offseason and is “eager” for a rotation spot, per Hobie Price of The California Post. Still, Price confirms that several contending executives believe Knecht will be the odd man out if the Lakers trim their roster from 16 players with guaranteed contracts to 15 by opening night.
- Law Murray of The Athletic checks in the battle for art Lakers‘ two open starting points side by side Luka Doncic, Austin Reevesand Walker Kesslerassuming Quentin Grimes is in a good position to grab one of them Ziair Williams is a legal claimant to another.
