It has only taken 10 games, but already the Phoenix Suns' decision to trade for center Mark Williams looks to have paid off. Despite a rocky start in which he didn't appear in preseason action and then sat out the first back-to-back of the season - all while coming off the bench - Williams has quickly emerged as the answer to many of this team's problems.
Head coach Jordan Ott preached building a defensive identity with this new group, and rim-protector Williams has been a key part of that. Although his ability to protect the basket was called into question plenty by those outside of The Valley, in his last six games for the team he has been a whopping plus 83 out on the court.
Suns won Williams trade based on sample size this season.
Although giving up a pair of first round picks to get an often injured 23-year-old seemed like yet another puzzling move by the front office, the reality is it has been anything but. One of those picks was the 29th selection in this year's draft in Liam McNeely, and so far he is playing less than 12 minutes a night for the Charlotte Hornets.
Mark Williams is a +83 in his last 6 games. Unreal impact from him. pic.twitter.com/Av27cWmr8H
— LEEZUS (@AndrewLeezus) November 9, 2025
It is too soon to know if the 2029 first round pick the franchise also gave up will come back to haunt them, and they've been burnt before in trading away Toumani Camara before he ever played a game for the franchise. If Williams can continue to be this productive however - he's playing like a top 10 center in the league this season - then it won't matter.
Best of all, the 25.6 minutes he's averaging each night is actually down slightly on the last two seasons (over 26 minutes), while his scoring and rebounding is down some on what he's contributed in the past. Really though the only number that matters is defensive rating, and when Williams is on the court the Suns are elite in that key area.
On the season they're allowing 115.4 points each night, good for 19th in the league. When Williams is out there however that number shrinks all the way to 105.6, which is the second best number in the entire league. He also remains a lob threat offensively without being as explosive as we have seen in the past.
It is great to see a young player with clear upside now call Phoenix home, which is in complete contrast to what fans watched for the last couple of seasons. There will be a difficult conversation down the road about what sort of extension Williams will get, but if he keeps playing like he has and remains healthy, then he is rightly and deservedly going to get paid.