A lot of attention has gone to Jalen Green and what this season means for him in Phoenix, but the bigger swing piece for the Suns is Mark Williams. His health, more than anything else, could decide how high this roster climbs.
Williams enters the year coming off a contract extension that worked out for both sides - three years, $38 million - and he’s still only 24. If he can top last season’s career-high 60 appearances, Phoenix gets something much more valuable than simple center minutes: it buys time for the rest of the frontcourt to develop without being rushed.
Last season, Williams averaged 23.6 minutes per game. If he can get back to the 26.6 minutes he logged in his final season with the Charlotte Hornets, the Suns should feel it on defense. The addition of Miles Bridges may cost them some presence on that end because Bridges will want to score in bunches, but Williams gives them a real rim protector, the kind of big who makes drivers think twice.
That matters for Oso Ighodaro, too. With Williams soaking up the heavy lifting at center, Ighodaro can spend more time between the four and the five.
He also looks like a much better fit coming off the bench as a lively center, which gives head coach Jordan Ott more ways to mix and match. Ighodaro settled in midway through last season, but the early stretch, when he was starting at the five, did not go smoothly.
A steady season from Williams would also open the door for sophomore Khaman Maluach to keep building at his own pace. If Williams holds the starting job all year, Maluach can attack second units and get more reps without being thrown into the deep end. His Summer League burst has already sparked thoughts about him taking over sooner rather than later, but that’s not the current reality.
Still, it would be a huge advantage for Phoenix to have two players who can start on any given night. After the Jusuf Nurkic/Drew Eubanks/Mason Plumlee era, that kind of flexibility is no small thing.
Maluach is only 19, and being able to spend a few games in the G League or slide behind Ighodaro in the backup role would help his confidence and growth. But all of that depends on Williams staying on the floor.
If he does, the Suns avoid a major hole at center. If he doesn’t, the whole rotation gets scrambled.
That’s why Williams, not Green, is the real x-factor in The Valley this season.
In Other News...
Former Suns Finals Sparkplug May Be Drifting Out Of Phoenix Plans
With training camps getting closer, Cameron Payne still sits unsigned, and the former Suns sparkplug is looking at an uncertain NBA market after last playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Phoenixs current backcourt picture makes a reunion increasingly unlikely, especially with the team choosing to evaluate younger guards and see who can carve out a larger role before the season begins.
Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Jamaree Bouyea are all in the mix for those minutes, giving the Suns a different kind of guard competition than the one Payne would step into. For a player who once provided energy and playoff-shotmaking for Phoenix, the door does not appear completely shut around the league, but the path back to the Suns is getting harder to see. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Kennard Could Force A Real Suns Lineup Decision
Luke Kennards arrival gives the Suns something they have been short on around the edges of the roster: another shooter who can also keep the ball moving. If his passing gains carry over, he could become more than a specialist, because Phoenix has been looking for cleaner spacing and a little more playmaking to support the scoring around Jalen Green, Miles Bridges and Dillon Brooks.
The tricky part is that Kennards value may not be limited to spot minutes. His defensive limitations are still part of the equation, but the offensive fit is good enough to make the Suns think harder about how they want their best five arranged. At some point, that kind of balance can turn a bench addition into a lineup decision, and Phoenix may have to decide how much creation it wants on the floor without giving up too much defense. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Rotation Squeeze Puts Three Players In A Tough Spot
The Suns rotation picture is getting tighter, and the pressure is starting to show on a few familiar names. With new roster additions and more competition around the lineup, Ryan Dunn, Jamaree Bouyea and Jalen Green are all in line to see less floor time than they did before, which is never a comfortable place for players trying to carve out a steady role.
For Dunn, the squeeze goes beyond simply losing minutes, because his place in the long-term plan suddenly looks less secure as the season unfolds. Bouyea is expected to have a smaller part to play than he did a year ago, and Green, whose usage is already headed in the wrong direction, could wind up sliding even further down the pecking order if the minutes keep shrinking. [Read more 🡒]