The Phoenix Suns have a decision on their hands with Mark Williams this offseason, and the New York Knicks sure aren't helping matters.
Whether the 24-year-old is given an extension to stick around or is subsequently traded (they wouldn't let him walk for nothing would they?), Williams in Phoenix has revealed an awful truth about this roster.
Williams best big Phoenix has had in half a decade
That's right, the center who the Charlotte Hornets couldn't wait to get rid of is actually the best player the Suns have had at that position since Deandre Ayton in 2021. Even that comes with a caveat, as Ayton's form in the run to the NBA Finals was not what the Suns got out of him on a consistent basis.
Williams doesn't have much competition for the position, with a misused Jusuf Nurkic, Mason Plumlee and Drew Eubanks (shudder) as good as it has gotten since the organization last made the finals. But that presents a much bigger issue of how the Suns can hope to contend with Devin Booker again.
If they keep Williams, and there's clearly a case to be made for doing so when you consider what else is realistically available, then their future is tied to an often-injured big man who is coming off the most available season of his career and that only equated to 60 appearances.
Moving on would leave Phoenix with the combination of Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach, plus whatever cast-off they can find in the open market. The two players already in the building both have the potential to be the best center Booker has played with in quite some time.
But that is going to take time that the franchise may not have, with Booker approaching 30 and wanting to contend again as soon as possible. There is no happy ending to this scenario, and it proves how difficult it is to find an elite center.
Which the Suns will need to navigate the Western Conference, as Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic and even Isaiah Hartenstein are going nowhere.
The Los Angeles Lakers tried to win it all this season and they had... you guessed it Ayton manning the middle. It didn't work out, to the surprise of nobody, but that tells you the kind of plight Phoenix finds itself in.
If a franchise that has both Luka Doncic and LeBron James can talk itself into believing Ayton can help them win it all, there is a serious lack of quality out there. Williams helped the Suns make the playoffs, before failing to appear due to injury.
That is as good as it has gotten for them since Ayton was sent to Portland, and the reality that they have failed to find an adequate replacement is going to be a problem for years to come no matter what they do with Williams.
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