Duke head basketball coach Jon Scheyer's embarrassment of riches goes beyond projected No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg. Kon Knueppel is quickly becoming one of college basketball history’s great right-hand men. Tyrese Proctor is becoming one of March Madness’s great redemption tales.
And then there’s Khaman Maluach, who might have the most ready-made NBA skillset of any Blue Devil.
Maluach is a Clint Capela-like rim-runner, but he’s seven-foot-two. Not every supergiant in recent history has thrived, with Bol Bol and Tacko Fall being notable raw talents never reaching their potential in the NBA.
Seven-foot-three Victor Wembanyama, on the other hand, looks like a bona fide star from the Spurs. His injury torpedoed San Antonio’s season, but with De’Aaron Fox on board, they are one of the NBA’s most promising up-and-coming teams.
PFSN’s Matt John projects the Spurs to be one of Maluach’s potential landing spots, with Wembanyama and Maluach forming a potential “Twin Towers” situation in the Alamo City.
“Of all the teams that could draft Maluach, the Spurs are definitely the scariest. While Victor Wembanyama is already enough of a threat on both sides of the floor, Maluach would give them a twin towers situation that could make San Antonio downright impossible to score on in the post,” John wrote.
“The Spurs weren’t even meant to be in this position, as they signaled they planned to win as soon as possible with Wembanyama. However, Maluach gives them an even bigger sign of hope. It may be drastic to put this out there, but if he lives up to his potential, he and Wembanyama could make the best big-man duo they’ve had since Tim Duncan and David Robinson.”
Maluach wouldn’t get the most minutes in San Antonio relative to other possible draft options, with Wembanyama likely to man the 5 spot in an increasingly three-point-heavy NBA.
With that said, good luck ever scoring on lineups including the two of them with Wemby playing down at the 4.
Gregg Popovich’s Spurs would be as fun a landing spot as any for Maluach.