Phoenix Suns Make 2 Offseason Moves in a Row During NBA Draft originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Phoenix Suns entered the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night looking to select a young player that would help them during their rebuild.
Of course, Phoenix began their rebuild earlier in the week after sending Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks.
With them now having a core of Devin Booker, Green and Brooks, the Suns’ main area of need was upgrading their frontcourt and that is exactly what they would do during the first round of the draft.
Before they made a selection with the 10th overall pick, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Phoenix was trading the 29th pick in the draft along with a 2029 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams.
BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading center Mark Williams to the Phoenix Suns for the No. 29 pick tonight and a 2029 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/a6eDDn5aE6
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2025
This is a massive trade for Phoenix as they are able to upgrade the starting center position, though they were not done improving their frontcourt.
With the 10th overall pick, the Suns selected Duke center Khaman Maluach, giving them another center to pair alongside Williams next season.
GAME-CHANGING SIZE FOR PHOENIX 💪
Duke’s Khaman Maluach is headed to the @Suns (via Houston) as the 10th pick in the 2025 #NBADraft! pic.twitter.com/6Z9vHxV5wS
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 26, 2025
These were two massive moves by the Suns as they had a clear plan to upgrade their frontcourt entering the 2025 draft, and they were able to do just that.
For Williams, he will likely slot in as Phoenix’s new starting center next season, which is a massive upgrade over his former teammate with the Hornets, Nick Richards, whom the Suns acquired last season.
Of course, Williams has dealt with a ton of injuries during his NBA career but when he is healthy, he is a dominant force on the glass and defensive end while also being a solid inside scorer.
For Maluach, he was a key part of Duke last season next to Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, both of whom were also lottery picks on Wednesday night.
Maluach is a great rebounder and defender and will give the Suns a much-needed rim protector as they try to return to being a contender next season.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.