Drew Timme on why he keeps changing NBA teams: ‘I’m an undersized white guy’

Drew Timme has a short explanation for why the Phoenix Suns are his sixth NBA team in three seasons, and he offered it with a shrug: “I’m an undersized white guy.”

The 26-year-old big man spoke after the Suns’ shootaround on Saturday, October 24, telling Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that he does not pass the eye test but knows how to play and how to make the players around him better. That part of his game, he argued, is undervalued because it rarely shows up in a box score.

A résumé built on stops and starts

Phoenix claimed Timme off waivers on Monday, October 19, two days after the Minnesota Timberwolves cut him at the end of camp, and turned his deal into a two-way contract. Before that came preseason stints in Milwaukee and Sacramento that ended before opening night, a late-season run in Brooklyn and a two-way year with the Lakers.

The 6-foot-9, 235-pounder has played 36 NBA games, averaging 5.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 13.6 minutes. His best stretch came in nine games for the Nets at the end of 2024-25, when he averaged 12.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. The G League has never been the problem: he made the league’s All-NBA G League Second Team with South Bay last season, and he finished his Gonzaga career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,307 points before going undrafted in 2023.

Timme said he is learning that the job is about finding the right system, adding that he will not “fit every style of play.” He told Rankin he likes how the Suns play, sees himself as someone who can step in at either the four or the five, and feels he is in a good spot to establish himself. He credited Oso Ighodaro with helping him learn the playbook and terminology, and named Devin Booker, Luke Kennard and LeBron James as players whose habits he studies.

Where he fits in Phoenix

He has not played yet. Timme did not get into either of the Suns’ first two games, the 124-83 loss in Portland and Saturday’s 131-122 home win over Golden State, when Booker scored 43.

The opening behind the starting center is real, though. Mark Williams is out for months after left shoulder surgery, and Ighodaro strained his right oblique in the opener and is day-to-day, according to coach Jordan Ott. Rookie Khaman Maluach has started both games, with 9 points and 9 rebounds against the Warriors, and two-way big Duop Reath has been the first center off the bench, playing just over three minutes on Saturday. Phoenix has also been out-rebounded in both games, a weakness Booker singled out after the win, so a passing big who can hold his spot on the glass could find minutes if the rotation shifts.

What comes next

The Suns (1-1) visit the unbeaten Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, October 26, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Follow it in the Game Center.