The Phoenix Suns renovated their center rotation this offseason, in one night drafting Khaman Maluach 10th overall and trading for Charlotte Hornets Mark Williams. And thanks to the Toronto Raptors, that combination is about to get really expensive, really quickly.
The roller coaster ride of Mark Williams and his supporters has been a wild one. He was the 15th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft (like Maluach, he played at Duke) and has developed into a consistent double-double threat as a low-usage, very efficienct non-shooting big man. That is a classic archetype for a big man, and the value of such a player has vascillated wildly over the last couple of decades.
The Los Angeles Lakers seemed to put a high price tag on Williams when they agreed to trade an unprotected future first, a swap and recent first-round pick Dalton Knecht for the Charlotte center. Something flagged in his medical, however, and the Lakers rescinded the trade entirely.
Six months later, and Williams is on the Phoenix Suns and likely to slot in as the starter. He is also eligible for a rookie contract extension. Given his checkered injury history, such a deal would presumably be quite team-friendly -- except for two problems. First, the Suns traded a pair of first-round picks for him, communicating how highly they value Williams to his camp.
Secondly, the Toronto Raptors went out and reset the market on this archetype of center, showing that even if you're mediocre as a center, you can get paid a lot of money.
Jakob Poeltl reset the center market
The Toronto Raptors have a bizarre love affair with Jakob Poeltl. They originally drafted him ninth overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, and he has had a solid career worthy of that draft slot. He has never been in serious All-Star contention, but he has appeared in 595 games and started 341 of them.
The Raptors included a young Poeltl in the Kawhi Leonard trade in 2018 but apparently never shook their infatuation. Five years later they traded for him back, giving up what became the No. 8 pick in 2024 to do so. After reportedly refusing to include him in Kevin Durant trade discussions this summer, they recently agreed to a lucrative new contract extension: three years, $84 million.
That averages out to just over $28 million per season for his age 32-34 seasons. That is significantly more than Ivica Zubac or Nic Claxton will make over that span. It's just over the amount Myles Turner received after starting for an NBA Finals team.
It's a colossal overpay for Poeltl, who is not an elite rim protector nor an offensive force. He rebounds decently well, he can block shots if they come right to him, and he has some craft touch around the rim. Yet he is not "great" at anything and his game should only erode as he gets older. Add in that he has missed significant time due to injury in multiple recent seasons and you arrive at the only conclusion: this was a massive overpay.
Circling back to Mark Williams, you have another center who is not particularly elite in any single area. He is not an elite rim protector despite having good size. He has some strengths on offense but isn't a playmaking hub nor a dominant finisher. He is a perfectly fine, low-end starting center, honestly similar to Jakob Poeltl if not with quite the same track record.
Thanks to the Raptors, who just backed up the truck for Poeltl, the Suns are going to have a weaker negotiating position when working out a new deal with Mark Williams. He and his representation can merely point to the massive payday Poeltl received and say "money, please!"
Mark Williams is not worth a massive payday. Neither was Jakob Poeltl. And because the Raptors cannot stop overpaying their players, the Suns are going to be led right to their favorite activity: overpaying theirs.