Few players on the Phoenix Suns roster enter the 2025-26 season with more question marks than 23-year-old center Mark Williams. Coming to The Valley from the Charlotte Hornets this offseason – in a deal that saw Phoenix give up a pair of first-round picks – Williams will be the starting center for this team.
That is, if he can stay healthy, which is far from a guarantee after three seasons in the league. The 44 games he managed last season worryingly represented a career high, while the fact that he is now eligible for an extension to his rookie deal further complicates matters. Williams is also yet to feature in pre-season action, and that may not change during their two-match trip to Macau in China.
Play of Williams is the biggest difference maker on the Suns roster.
However, this is a gamble with some upside, which is why the franchise traded for Williams in the first place. Thus far in his career, Williams, as has been painfully noted, has not been a good rim protector. Combine that with the fact that he only plays about half the games per season, and having him as a key player on your roster is a problem.
Suns traded two firsts for Mark Williams and then drafted a Center with the 10th pick
pic.twitter.com/ld5Oe7FL2Y— BIGMEM12 (@BIGMEM12) June 26, 2025
That’s the realistic approach to all of this, but with Kevin Durant leaving for Houston this summer, the Suns are now entering a rebuilding phase. Because they don’t have their own draft picks, they can take risks on players that many other teams wouldn’t have. This could backfire, but since they have nothing to lose at this point, trading for Williams could also pay off big time.
If he somehow plays 60 games this season — again unlikely considering the Los Angeles Lakers literally vetoed a trade for him after seeing his medical records — then he alone raises the Suns’ floor. Additionally, if he could transform into a more reliable rim protector, then suddenly this team could realistically win more than the 36 games they played with Durant last season.
The Suns finished fourth from bottom in defensive rating last season, allowing an abysmal 117.7 points per game. That was with Jusuf Nurkic playing in the middle for much of the season before Nick Richards took over after the deadline. The hope is that rookie Khaman Maluach can help in that regard – and the early returns look promising – but Williams can be the x-factor.
If he can stay on the field, average a double-double and put together the best defensive season of his career to date — a relatively low bar to clear — then the Suns’ front office will look smart for taking the chance on him. What to pay him in the future will only become more difficult, but that’s a conversation for another day. Are you pinning all your hopes on Williams? As terrifying as it is seductive.
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