Alan Williams is coming off a nearly missed full season with the Phoenix Suns and has a solid chunk of money owed to him next season. Is there any guarantee that Big Sauce will be back?
When Alan Williams made his triumphant return at the end of March, fans hoped that they would see the re-emergence of the same Big Sauce that had ended the 2016-17 with a lot of hope and expectations regarding his development and growth as a backup power forward/center for the Phoenix Suns. But although he returned and proved to himself, the team, and other teams around the league, that he is healthy and capable of playing, after five games he was shut down once again, nowhere near the amount of time necessary to get himself back into game shape or make a significant impact on the court.
Big Sauce impressed at the end of 2016-17 averaging 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting a hair below 50% over his final 23 games – all off the bench. Over that stretch he recorded 12 double-doubles, including five in a row in early March 2017.
Phoenix Suns
At that point fans were clamoring for his return, and as an unrestricted free agent was fortunately re-signed bringing the hometown kid back to the franchise he grew up loving as a child.
But then in September he tore the meniscus in his right knee, needing surgery, keeping him out for the majority of the 2017-18 season during the recovery process.
As a result the Suns desperately missed the depth he provided at those positions, finding none consistently throughout the year, and lacking energy in the post that only he and Tyson Chandler seem to provide.
When Williams finally made his season debut on March 26, it was not only a celebration of his long-awaited return, but another body that could be utilized by Head Coach Jay Triano following the neck injury to Tyson Chandler that prevented his playing the final 14 games of the year.
Yet Williams was never really given a chance to get his legs back under him. Playing between 15-20 minutes in four games, Big Sauce struggled to score, never getting his shot down (shooting 7-18 total), and not making much of an impact on the defensive end (in 2016-17 Williams averaged 14.8 rebounds per-36 minutes. In these few games he averaged only 11.3).
Thus after five games (he played in only 2:58 in his final outing), Williams was once again shut down and missed the team’s final three matchups.
Now, to what extent was there fear that his playing too much to end the season could potentially cause additional problems in his knee, who knows. The Suns pretty much shut everybody down to prevent from winning, and there is no doubt that Williams’ positive play could have been a legitimate contributing factor in the Suns winning a game that they didn’t want to win and lessen their odds of earning the worst record in the NBA.
But with 2017-18 finally out of the way, will Big Sauce be a part of the future going forward, or even just a part of next year’s roster?
It is well worth remembering that the next two seasons of his contract are non-guaranteed. Thus, Phoenix can move on from him fairly easily and create additional cap space if necessary.
Due approx. $5.52M next season, if coming off of this injury there is any fear that he will not be the same player he was in 2016-17, or if McDonough is able to snag a big name free agent and needs the maximum amount of cap space to fit him in, then Williams could be one of several players not-retained for next year.
While $5+M for one year isn’t that tremendous of a salary hold on a roster that could potentially create upwards of $30 in space by moving Jared Dudley, Tyson Chandler, and Brandon Knight, should any of those players be retained, or should the necessity of creating space to add a number of veteran players to the roster via free agency or trade mean McDonough needs the maximum amount of space he can muster, Williams could end up being one of those odd-man-out players who become a casualty of the official end of the rebuild.
Certainly fans would like Alan Williams to be back, and I’m sure both he and Suns management would too. His energy and fire, both on and off the court, are contagious, and while he will never be the most athletic or physically dynamic player on the floor, there would be no doubt in a coach’s mind that Williams would spend every second of his play time expelling every ounce of energy he has in his system.
Not a bad investment for only $5+M.
Next: A look back at the year of terrible Phoenix Suns PG play
Hopefully Big Sauce is back in a Suns uniform next season and an integral part in the franchise’s first run at the playoffs since 2010. There is no doubt that his role as a fan favorite would be continued without pause and that an offseason to help more fully recover from his surgery will make him all the more prepared for the rigors of a complete 82 game season.
But just know that should Phoenix need as much cap space as possible to bring in the starting-caliber talent to improve the team dramatically, $5+M for a backup big might not be feasible. If that is the case, I have no doubt that Williams will find a spot in the NBA somewhere else, although his heart will always remain in Arizona.