A labrum tear at the worst moment
Phoenix will start the season without its starting center. Mark Williams underwent a procedure on Thursday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, ESPN reported today, and the Suns expect him out for an extended stretch. The injury traces back to a recent offseason workout.
Two months ago this looked like settled business. Williams signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $38 million contract in July, the kind of deal a franchise hands a 24-year-old it intends to build the paint around.
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The availability problem, again
Williams has now played 166 games across four NBA seasons. A player who never missed a night would have appeared in 328 over that span, which puts roughly half of his professional career in street clothes.
The production holds up when he is on the floor. Career averages of 12.0 points and 8.5 rebounds, 132 starts in those 166 appearances, and 11.7 points with 8.0 rebounds in 60 games for Phoenix last season. Charlotte drafted him 15th overall out of Duke in 2022 and kept him three years before the move west.
What Phoenix loses
The Suns finished 45-37 last season and were swept by Oklahoma City in the first round. That series exposed a frontcourt that needed reinforcing, not thinning.
Preseason opens October 5 at Detroit, the regular season on October 21 in Portland. Phoenix has six weeks to work out whether it covers the position from inside the roster or goes shopping.
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