Jordan Ott lays out a vision for a crowded center rotation

The Phoenix Suns have an ideal plan with their central rotation, acc head coach Jordan Ott. With four centers on the team, it seems like there could be some confusion over who gets the minutes.

Mark Williams, Nick Richards, Oso Ighodaro and newcomer Khaman Maluach have similar but different skill sets. Williams is elite as a rim-runner and lob threat. His athleticism and rebounding would be essential for this Phoenix team.

Richards is a steady presence at the rim and is a quality rebounder. He is also a lob threat and continues to develop his outside game. For Ighodar, he is probably the best playmaker of the bunch.

His basketball acumen on offense and defense was there throughout training camp, and glimpses of it in his rookie season. Now, there’s Maluach.

The former Duke center brings an infectious energy that makes everyone thrive. After that The Suns acquired Maluah on a draft nightit could be a draft steal. Energy, defensive communication and sheer size could give him legitimate minutes.

Either way, Ott knows it’s a rotation it will not be set in stonebut on a game-by-game basis.

“It’s going to be fluid,” Ott said via AZCentral’s Duane Rankin on X (formerly Twitter). “We’re all new to all of this. Work and production is the most important thing. It’s been some of what we’ve seen in our building in recent months.

“Mark did it. Mark did it at a high level. Nick did it. Oso spent a year in the league and Man-Man, we’re trying to figure it out.

Jordan Ott sees value with all Suns centers

In the 82 games of the NBA regular season, there will be a variety of schemes that Phoenix will see. Some teams will have dominant interior athletes like Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid.

Others will have fully balanced big men like Nikola Jokić or Alperen Sengun. Meanwhile, others could have a purely defensive presence like Jarrett Allen or Rudy Gobery.

Whatever matchup the Suns face, they have the bodies and different skill sets to combat them. Yet someone like Maluah continues to impress and intrigue the coaching staff.

As mentioned earlier, his contagious energy and enthusiasm are things that cannot be taught. There are moments where he has shown that he is a rookie, but those will fade with time.

He was the most sought-after rookie on the roster because of his untapped potential. Ott has recognized that since taking the job, but doesn’t rule out any player starting over.

“This is his first season. We saw it in the preseason, as well as in the summer league. Ups and downs. That’s what young guys do.

Night to night, we’ll have a plan going into it, but we’ve got to be a little fluid as coaches and read the games and see who exactly makes the impact on the court night after night.”

The regular season begins on Wednesday, as the Suns face the Sacramento Kings. Even with all the work in the preseason and training camps, this will be the first glimpse of what might work.

In a sample size of just one game, the NBA world could quickly see that the center rotation was set. Or how Ott avoided it will be case by case, but time will tell if that sentiment is true.