Mark Williams’ torn labrum put the Suns in a rough spot, but it doesn’t automatically push them into a quick fix.
Phoenix opened the season already boxed in financially, carrying $23.2 million in dead cap money and sitting $1.7 million below the second apron, where the team is hard-capped. That kind of squeeze makes any replacement move tougher, and it also speeds up the clock on Khaman Maluach. What probably looked like a gradual development plan now may need to turn into real minutes, real responsibility, and real production much sooner than expected.
The center room, for the moment, is thin but not empty. Maluach and third-year big Oso Ighodaro are the main options.
Rasheer Fleming could slide into some small-ball five minutes if necessary, and two-way big CJ Huntley is available for up to 50 regular season games. If Phoenix leans on Huntley as the main depth piece behind Maluach and Ighodaro, that 50-game window would take him roughly to the All-Star break - which happens to line up with the current projection for Williams’ return.
That path makes sense.
The bigger question is whether the free agent market offers anything worth chasing. The short answer: not much.
Bismack Biyombo, Mason Plumlee, and Drew Eubanks are all out there, and the answer there is basically no thanks. Dwight Powell is available too, but he’s 35.
Xavier Tillman is the one name that at least makes you stop and think. He’s a solid screener, and BBall Index gave him an A- grade in rim protection.
But he’s also only 6’8”, and that raises the question of whether Phoenix would be better off just giving Rasheer Fleming a shot at small-ball five instead.
That’s the core issue. Adding a center just to add a center doesn’t feel like the smart play, especially with the Suns already so tight against the cap. The risk seems bigger than the reward.
If Phoenix does decide it needs another big, Jamaree Bouyea’s contract is the most obvious way to make room. He’s owed $2.6 million this season, but that money doesn’t become guaranteed until January 10, 2027. If the Suns waive him before then, they’d open up about $4.3 million in flexibility to go shopping.
But there’s no need to rush that call. Phoenix can wait until January, gather a real sample size, and let the season do some of the work for them.
By then, the Suns will have seen plenty of Maluach and Ighodaro as the primary centers, some small-ball five looks from Fleming if needed, and probably a few spot minutes from Huntley, especially when foul trouble hits. That’s exactly why two-way players and the G League exist.
So the better move might simply be patience. Let Maluach play.
Let Ighodaro handle his role. See what Huntley can give them.
Track Williams’ rehab. And if January comes around and the Suns still need help, then they can make the move.
For now, there’s no reason to force a center signing just to say they made one.
In Other News...
Suns Suddenly Had A Frontcourt Problem They Couldnt Ignore
A frontcourt injury forced the Suns to move quickly, and the answer is a familiar name to people who have followed the organizations depth-chasing for a while. Phoenix is signing center Duop Reath after Mark Williams went down with a shoulder injury, giving the team another big body to help stabilize the rotation while it sorts through the early-season fallout. Reath, who spent time overseas before making his NBA debut with Portland in the 2023-24 season, gives the Suns an experienced option at a position that suddenly needed one.
For Phoenix, the timing matters as much as the addition itself. The Suns are counting on Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro to carry most of the center minutes, but injuries can change that picture fast, especially when a team is already trying to build out its interior depth. Reaths arrival at least keeps the Suns from having to lean too heavily on the same two names, and it raises the next question the team will have to answer as the frontcourt picture settles: how much more of the season will it need to cover there, and by whom? [Read more 🡒]
Suns Just Sent Another Message About Their Crowded Backcourt
The Suns have continued trimming the edges of their roster with training camp still taking shape, and the latest move keeps the focus on a backcourt that already looks crowded. Jordan Schakel, a guard with limited NBA experience, was waived from his Exhibit 10 contract after spending time in the G League and overseas, a familiar sort of transaction for a team trying to sort out its guard depth and developmental pipeline.
Schakels next stop is expected to be the Valley Suns for the upcoming season, which fits the pattern Phoenix has leaned on for players who still have something to prove in its system. For a team balancing immediate rotation concerns with long-term depth, these decisions can be easy to miss, but they often say plenty about where the organization sees the most competition and where it wants to keep a close eye on players closest to the next call-up. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Expansion Draft Debate Already Puts Phoenix Roster Priorities On Display
The possibility of the NBA adding expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle as soon as the 2028-29 season has already prompted an uncomfortable thought exercise around the Suns roster. If an expansion draft eventually follows, Phoenix would need to decide which eight players it values most, and the conversation offers an early snapshot of how the front office might prioritize talent, contract control and long-term fit.
What makes the exercise interesting is how many Suns pieces are already tied to that window, which means the decision is less about short-term patchwork and more about projecting who still matters several years from now. Of course, it is all speculative at this stage, and future performance, injuries and roster turnover could reshape everything by the time any expansion format becomes real. [Read more 🡒]