Mark Williams is playing his way out of a max extension this summer

Phoenix Suns' center Mark Williams has been one of the best surprises of their unexpected season, the 24-year-old remaining healthy enough to contribute on a near nightly basis.

A large extension this offseason seems like a formality, although in recent weeks the play of Williams ahs cast some doubt on how much money he could receive.

Williams has hit wall as regular season drags on

The former Charlotte Hornet has struggled for scoring in his last four games, although he's usually good for about eight boards a night in February which is a massive help.

But if you go back through his performances for the last number of weeks, there haven't been any signature games or even a dominant period during a game for the Suns.

That wasn't the case earlier in the season, when Williams was appearing in back-to-backs (he still is) and was a huge factor on certain nights and against some opponents.

The reason for this is clear, Williams has never played this much basketball in his professional career. His highest output prior to this season being 44 games, and he's already at 55 (with 51 starts).

He simply looks tired, and at a time when the Suns need him to do more heavy lifting than ever before, they are instead having to rely on this pair of veterans to win them games.

There are two ways of looking at what comes next, although one most certainly would see Williams sign a contract for less money this summer.

With Nick Richards now in Chicago, the Suns are down a center and so will hope Williams can play his way back into form.

With rookie Khaman Maluach the only other big in the rotation, Phoenix has to go down this route as they continue chasing wins.

This would surely see Williams find some form once more, and sign the extension that everybody expects him too.

But if the slump continues and head coach Jordan Ott begins looking at other options, such as Oso Ighodaro, then the future of Williams becomes trickier to predict.

The franchise gave up a pair of first rounders to acquire him so you know they're not letting him walk, but he needs to prove he can do the opposite to Deandre Ayton in order to justify a large extension.

Williams is going to figure this out one way or the other and he has already exceeded expectations, but this bump in the road has been concerning and could impact future earnings.