Phoenix Suns' G League team chooses Theo Maledon in expansion draft after two-way run

The Phoenix Suns must still have an interest in Theo Maledon.

Their expansion G League team, Valley Suns, selected Maledon in Thursday’s expansion draft after signing him to a two-way deal in December 2023.

The 6-4 guard was viewed as a prospect at point guard, which was a position of need for the Suns, but only played four games before being waived March 4 to make room for Ish Wainright to return on a two-way. Maledon had worked out for the Suns last summer before training camp.

Maledon scored a total of five points in 13 minutes of action for the Suns after being claimed off waivers Dec. 17, three days after Charlotte let him go. A second-round pick in the 2020 draft out of France, Maledon has played for three NBA teams – Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Phoenix – in four seasons.

Here’s the full list of the players the Valley Suns selected in the expansion draft.

• Garrison Brooks (Westchester Knicks).

• Chaundee Brown Jr. (South Bay Lakers).

• Gary Clark (Salt Lake City Stars).

• Matt Lewis (Westchester Knicks).

• Didi Louzada (Cleveland Charge).

• Theo Maledon (Sioux Falls Skyforce).

• Emmanuel Mudiay (Iowa Wolves).

• Mychal Mulder (Capital City Go-Go).

• Jahlil Okafor (Delaware Blue Coats).

• Justin Smith (Delaware Blue Coats).

• Denzel Valentine (Raptors 905).

• Quinndary Weatherspoon (South Bay Lakers).

• Lindell Wigginton (Cleveland Charge).

• Trevion Williams (Sioux Falls Skyforce).

The Valley Suns could select up to 14 unprotected returning players, but they couldn’t choose more than two from a single team. They retain rights to these players for two seasons starting in the 2023-24 season.

It’s not a guarantee every player the Valley Suns chose will play for them next season as the team only has rights to their contracts if they play in the G League.

The Valley Suns will play their home games at Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University. The team has yet to announce a head coach.

G League teams had until 2 p.m. June 5 to provide the league office with a list of up to 12 unprotected players for the draft. No G League team could lose more than two players through the draft.

The Valley Suns received the list June 6 and had a week from that date, Thursday at noon, to submit the list of players they wanted to choose.

Okafor and Mudiay were lottery picks in the 2015 NBA Draft. Philadelphia drafted Okafor third overall out of Duke while Denver chose Mudiay seventh overall.

Having last played in the NBA in 2020-21, the 6-10 Okafor averaged 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 247 regular-season NBA games. He’s played six NBA seasons.

He averaged 19.2 points on an ridiculous 70.3% shooting and 7.5 rebounds in 16 G League games for the Mexico City Capitanes.

Mudiay averaged 10.9 points in 302 regular-season NBA games. From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mudiay last played in the NBA in 2021-22 to mark his sixth NBA season.

He played in the G League in 2022-23 for Iowa where he averaged 16.7 points and six assists in 26 games.

Valentine is another interesting choice being he starred for Michigan State where Suns team owner Mat Ishbia won a national championship as a player in 2000. The Chicago Bulls drafted Valentine with the 16th overall pick in 2016.

Averaging seven points in six NBA seasons as he missed the entire 2018-19 season with an ankle injury, Valentine last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season. He played a total of 256 regular-season games.

Valentine averaged 13.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and six assists in 20 G League games for the Maine Celtics in 2022-23. The 6-5 guard shot 38.8% from 3.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Theo Maledon still on Suns' radar, team drafts him in G League draft