The Phoenix Suns were active on the night of the first round of the NBA Draft, as they added a pair of centers to their roster. The first was Khaman Maluach - taken 10th overall using the pick they got from the Houston Rockets in the Kevin Durant deal - with the 18-year-old joining with both a ton of risk and upside.
In a more perplexing move, the front office then decided to trade a first round pick in 2029 - plus the 29th pick in this draft which turned into Liam McNeeley - in order to acquire Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets. On paper the bruising 23-year-old is everything the Suns need - but unfortunately for the franchise - the game is not played on paper.
Suns have put all their eggs in the wrong center basket with trade.
Williams has been limited to only 106 games played for Charlotte across three seasons, although he did manage a double-double (15.3 points and 10.2 boards) in 44 games last season. The first part of that sentence is excellent, and it is exactly what the Suns have been lacking since they moved on from Deandre Ayton.
Williams is a hulking big who can protect the rim but also has some offensive game in the paint, with an effective field goal percentage for his career of over 62 percent. But in playing only 44 times - starting on 41 occasions - already it feels like Williams doesn't have the body to play for an entire regular season.
Which is a problem - because as Sam Presti has already painfully pointed out - the Suns don't have the depth to carry them through a regular season. That was a huge issue during the Durant era, and it is not something that looks to be getting better with the Williams acquisition. The Suns are betting that Williams can be healthy when it really counts, but that is a massive risk.
Suns traded 2 firsts for Mark Williams then Drafted a Center with the 10th pick
— BIGMEM12 (@BIGMEM12) June 26, 2025
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Why they went all in on him is confusing, because other centers are sure to become available for the right price as the summer unfolds. Being in the second apron doesn't help - which is why the Hornets took back Vasilije Micić in the deal - but this still feels like a massive stretch. It would make sense that the franchise would want another big with some experience after drafting Maluach.
But doubling up on Hornets centers - the Suns also traded for backup Nick Richards at the trade deadline - does not seem like the right direction for the franchise to be heading. Maluach is years away from being a consistent contributor - if he ever gets there at all - yet right now he feels like a safer bet than Williams. That's all you need to know and why this trade is yet another mess.