The Phoenix Suns aren’t the only franchise who have to make a tough decision on what to do with their starting center in Mark Williams this offseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers faced with the dilemma of former Sun Deandre Ayton opting into his current deal and returning to that team, despite the same frustrations that defined his time in Phoenix coming to the fore in Hollywood.
Mark Williams is the ideal center for Lakers they can’t take from Suns
Like most franchises the Lakers do not have a lot of cap space to work with, so improving at the five is going to be tough. Unfortunately for them the ideal player to try who they could afford with some financial tweaking is Williams, but that can never happen in what is a rare win for the Suns over their rivals.
It was Los Angeles who vetoed a move for the 24-year-old at the trade deadline in 2025 that led to the Suns being able to land him that summer. Whatever your thoughts on Williams now (he did just turn in a career year), he is exactly the kind of big you want want to pair with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
He’s willing to do all of the dirty work in ways Ayton won’t across a whole season, while defensively he has the perfect body type to make life difficult inside for the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder. His injury history is concerning, but there's a reason he continues to have interest throughout the league.
Getting a big who can anchor a defense and is willing to be well down the pecking order offensively is hard to find. It is what Ayton told the Lakers he would become in pursuit of winning, but that did not quite happen.
Williams could be exactly that on something like $12-$15 million a year, only that won't be happening in Los Angeles.
Which could see them forced to pivot to another big such as Nikola Vucevic, despite his own massive shortcomings in the playoffs with the Boston Celtics. It is not often the Suns have the upper hand over the Lakers, but they do in this scenario.
Even if they decide to sign-and-trade Williams, they won't be doing business with their rivals and could have the opportunity to improve the roster by taking this route. Best of luck figuring out the kind of center necessary to pair with Doncic to win a championship to the Lakers' front office.
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