Suns just let perfect center addition pack his bags for Europe

If there is one area the Phoenix Suns have seriously lacked depth in recent seasons, it has been the center position. It says it all that the best big man the franchise could muster while Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal called The Valley home was Jusuf Nurkic. Even worse, he was banished by the Suns before Durant and Beal had even left town.

Now that the roster is being remade once again around Devin Booker, the front office have at least taken finding a big man for the future seriously. Khaman Maluach might only be 18-years-old, but he was a lottery pick worth taking a chance on. The trade for Mark Williams of the Charlotte Hornets at the same time the team selected Maluach was a head scratcher, that is getting harder to understand.

Suns should have taken a swing at Thomas Bryant.

Rather than make a trade for Williams, the Suns should have waited and seen if they could sign Thomas Bryant. The latest rumors for the 27-year-old are that he is nearing a deal to head to Europe, and you just know he is going to dominate there. Having just been in the NBA Finals with the Indiana Pacers though, why didn't the Suns see if they could sign him instead of Williams?

With the organization no longer in the first or second apron, actually getting Bryant would have been more straightforward than before they bought Beal out. The team are not going to win a championship next season either, and need veteran players who won't eat up a lot of cap long-term to lead this younger group. Bryant would most certainly have ticked those boxes.

While he's better used as backup, there's no reason he couldn't have started next season before hopefully handing the reigns over to Maluach. As it is Williams - who is four year's Bryant's junior - is going to push for the starting role himself, which in theory is a good thing. As we've discovered with the point guard position, competition even in training camp is a positive.

The Williams move would have made sense if he was always healthy - like this other new Sun - but we know that's not the case. He's never managed more than 44 games in a season - and despite being billed as a starter - has only started 77 career games total. Williams is a better big than Bryant who clearly has more upside, but whether Phoenix will ever get to see that or not is another story.

You can understand why they took a chance on him given their current position, but Bryant was the better transition choice if the front office is serious about getting back to contention soon. There is also the problem of what to do with Nick Richards, who is also still on the roster and is an ideal backup. He's likely on the move regardless, but it should have been Bryant coming in the door.