Five Way Too Early Predictions About the Suns in 2017-18
By Adam Maynes
The Suns will keep Tyson Chandler, Alex Len, and Alan Williams – and Alan Williams will see time at power forward due to his improved jumper.
The first half of this prediction isn’t too outlandish, but in order to make that happen, Williams would have to improve his jumper, which would be a big deal.
To start with, Tyson Chandler will not be traded this off-season. Unless some package that could bring Andre Drummond to the Suns needed to include Chandler to help make the contract work (and the Pistons demanded a center in return) his leadership qualities as well as his close relationship to Earl Watson makes trading him both nearly impossible, and with the rising salary cap, almost entirely unnecessary.
Alex Len will re-sign with the Suns because he will not receive an outlandish contract offer in free agency that Ryan McDonough will not be willing to match. While athletic centers are difficult to come by in the league, the fact that Len was never able to wrestle the starting job away from Tyson Chandler speaks well to his lack of growth in his first five years as a pro. That doesn’t mean that he won’t have an offer from someone else in the league, that is definitely likely. McDonough though will not be willing to give up on a young asset so easily and will match it, keeping him here.
If McDonough and Williams are unable to reach a contractual agreement it would be a travesty. A home grown player with the kind of infectious energy and excitement that he brings to the team makes him a necessity to re-sign, and I cannot imagine that it will not happen. Williams will be back, and the logjam that began the season which kept him on the bench until the All-Star break will return.
To break that up and allow him to receive regular and consistent minutes, Williams will need to improve his offensive game to a level that will make keeping him on the court with the veteran lineups more adventitious to the team.
Much was talked about this past season in regards to the improvement of his game with the addition of his mid-range floater. Still an inconsistent shot, it would be wise of him to further improve the accuracy and consistency of it. However, of his 277 field goal attempts this season, according to NBA.com/stats only 23 were from 10-16ft – though he drained a decent 43.5% of them. If he could work on that shot this off-season and prove that he could step back and take and make it with any modicum of consistency, then bringing Williams off the bench behind Marquese Chriss, and playing him at power forward in a lineup that featured either Chandler or Len at center, would be a serious defensive asset for Earl Watson.
I think Williams knows this, I think the team knows it, and I think that it will all happen.