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What if I told you that the Suns could increase their production at the starting center position while simultaneously paying less money than it would take to re-sign Mark Williams? Is that something you might be interested in?
Despite the Suns’ injury management plan, reduced minutes, and scheduled rest days, Mark Williams ended another season hurt. This left the Suns with no choice but to turn to their young reserve centers as they struggled to gain traction against the overwhelming perimeter pressure of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Averaging 43.6 minutes over the course of four games, Khaman Malauch and Oso Ighodaro (KhOso) combined to average 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks.
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No bueno.
Going into the 2026-27 season, the Suns have a decision to make about whether to bring back Mark Williams, who played a career-high 60 games last season. The Suns, in a surprise move, acquired Williams via a draft day trade, swapping two first-round picks for the big, and then immediately turned around and drafted Khaman Malauch. As Holden Sherman pointed out in his Bright Side article, the Suns knew they’d need a starting center as 19-year-old Malauch developed his body and game. A necessity to compete, but still a high price to pay.
Some fans might wring their hands at the thought of moving on from a player their team just gave up two draft picks to get after one year, but the Suns would be well advised not to fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy.
Mark Williams is a restricted free agent, so the Suns are in a position to match any offer made. Whether there will be interest in the Suns big remains to be seen, but ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported that Mark could receive a possible contract of $42 million over 3 years, and there are real questions as to whether or not that fits the Suns budget and Khaman Malauch’s timeline.
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So if Mark does hit the $13-15 million dollar a year range and the Suns decide to walk away, what options do they have? Replacements for Mark within the Suns’ budget are hard to find. The Suns will either have to spend more on or expect less from the starting center position….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/center-answer-might-someone-suns-190000353.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-12 19:00:00
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