The Suns finally have legitimate optionality at center

You may look at the Suns re-signing Mark Williams to a three-year, $38 million contract as unnecessary. He hasn’t exactly been the picture of health throughout his career. And while he played 60 games last season, 15 more than his previous career high, that still left him 22 games short of a full 82-game season.

So why pay him $11.7 million for 2026–27? You have second-year center Khaman Maluach waiting in the wings, along with third-year big Oso Ighodaro providing versatility behind him. On the surface, you could make the argument that Phoenix didn’t need to spend that money on Williams.

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I’ve talked ad nauseam about the optionality his contract provides in both the short and long term. If he plays well, you have a quality center on a team that isn’t going to be center-centric. If he struggles, or if Maluach exceeds expectations early, you have a highly tradable contract.

But I’m not worried about any of that today. What stands out right now is how versatile the Suns suddenly are at center. Between Williams, Maluach, and Oso, Phoenix has options depending on what a matchup calls for, and that is one area of the roster that doesn’t feel like it should create much anxiety entering the season.

Phoenix is not a city, or a franchise, that has known much stability at center. Three seasons ago, it was Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks. Two seasons ago, it was Nurkic and Mason Plumlee. And before that, you had a player with all of the promise but none of the mental toughness to allow it to come to fruition. Too often, the Suns have been stuck with lumbering, limited bigs who check only a couple of the boxes you want from a productive center.

Those boxes? Rim protection. Rebounding. Finishing. Screening. Athleticism. And if you want to add a bonus skill, the ability to stretch the floor. Throughout the organization’s history, Phoenix has gotten two of those six attributes and had to make do.

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The beauty of this year’s roster is that Williams, Khaman Maluach, and Oso Ighodaro each check multiple boxes, which gives Jordan Ott the ability to play chess rather than checkers.

Williams graded in the 91st…

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Publish date : 2026-09-08 19:00:00

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