Alan Williams has been a forgotten part of the Phoenix Suns young core this season, but if he has the ability to play, the franchise shouldn’t hold him back.
After signing a three year contract this last summer, center Alan Williams went down with a partial tear in his meniscus in September. Williams has been on the road to recovery ever since. While the season has been disappointing for the most part, a possible Williams’ return at the end the season could help bring some excitement to this lackluster Phoenix Suns‘ roster. When Williams is fully recovered from his injury, then he should play this season even if it’s just for a few games.
Scott Bordow of azcentral recently tweeted out a possible time frame for Williams’ return.
Earliest will be late March. Hasn't started practicing yet
— scott bordow (@sbordow) March 10, 2018
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Based on Bordow’s tweet, lets be safe and say the Suns’ start allowing Williams to play at the beginning of April. That would give Williams five games to get some on the court chemistry with some of the new Suns’ players like Josh Jackson and Elfrid Payton. Those five games would also help him to knock off some rust before going into the offseason. Knocking off some of the rust of not playing at the end of this will help Williams hit the ground running next season.
Let it be clear that if Williams is not 100 percent healthy, there is no way he should be on the court playing for the Suns. However, if he is completely healed up and the Suns are going to take a big positive step in the right direction, then he needs floor time now. He probably won’t impact the Suns’ record at this point, so the club shouldn’t be concerned about its chances at a top lottery pick.
Next: Should the Suns ponder trading Warren?
Having Williams ready to play next season should be the most important thing for the Phoenix Suns right now. If he’s completely healthy, then playing him at the end of the season is part of getting him ready for next season.