With all of this in mind, Phoenix has had a combination of caution and diligence with Williams since he arrived in a trade on draft night in late June.<\/p>\n
Head coach Jordan Ott spoke a handful of times throughout training camp on Williams, and the central takeaways are that while Williams does not have a current injury, he is not doing 5-on-5 yet and will not play in the preseason opener on Friday in Palm Desert against the Lakers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know Mark\u2019s history and we\u2019re trying to change it,\u201d Ott said Saturday. \u201cWe\u2019re taking an approach. And he\u2019s been out here, and it\u2019s been good. He\u2019s definitely added some strength to him. \u2026 Excited to see where he goes but we still do have another couple of weeks here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The way Ott phrased it on Wednesday was that Williams\u2019 \u201ccamp started a long time ago\u201d and that the center has been in the facility since the start of July working on his body, more than doubling his lower body strength (by whatever metric the Suns use to measure that).<\/p>\n
Williams does not dance around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I just want to prove my availability. \u2026 I just gotta be on the floor more,\u201d he said at media day.<\/p>\n
Phoenix has raved about Williams thus far. General manager Brian Gregory touted those gains thanks to Williams\u2019 work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in here at like 7:30 every morning rehabbing and then he\u2019ll get out on the court and stuff,\u201d Suns guard Collin Gillespie said Saturday. \u201cHe\u2019s working extremely hard to get back and I know he\u2019s hungry to get back and be on the floor with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything is in motion and everyone\u2019s head is in the right spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe understands this is a career,\u201d Ott said Thursday of Williams\u2019 mindset. \u201cIt\u2019s not a today, it\u2019s not a tomorrow type of plan. I think he feels our intention with that and his participation has been unbelievable. He comes with a joy every day, even though he is at times, [wanting] to do more.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, uh, Williams is not playing live basketball right now. And that\u2019s a pretty large \u201cbut.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Ott said Williams is doing all of the drill work in practice, he is a spectator when the real deal is happening. Ott was asked if Williams will play at all in the preseason, and he said that is the goal, with the Suns currently \u201cassessing exactly where he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is not a yes, and it\u2019s the type of asterisk or qualifier that you wouldn\u2019t want to see accompanying the oft-injured center. The reality, though, is that this is obviously a long-term approach and one preseason game is not the time to start tossing hands in the air and declaring, \u201cHere we go again.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that said, it would be good to have him out there for multiple reasons beyond just the relief of taking more productive steps toward being past his problems.<\/p>\n
Ott has referenced actual significance to the preseason for the Suns, that a lot of what he has talked about in terms of stylistic objectives will be seeing how it looks in these exhibitions and tinkering from there. So, Williams being out there \u2014 one of the five most important players on the team and arguably top-3 \u2014 would be helpful.<\/p>\n
An unconventional schedule could set up Williams to not play in the preseason at all.<\/p>\n
Will he play in China on Oct. 10 or 12? If that type of travel and environment is not considered suitable enough for the delicate way in which the Suns are going about this, perhaps the preseason finale on Oct. 14 will be. Then again, the ridiculous turnaround the league\u2019s schedule put Phoenix on with a game two days later back in the states (as opposed to the Brooklyn Nets having a much more realistic five days) has its quirks too, almost guaranteeing the group that plays in China will be sitting out that finale.<\/p>\n
Ott said the travel on the way back from China and that turnaround is the toughest period for situations like this one, noting the team will have a few days to settle in China before that pair of games. Williams will be traveling with the team for that international swing.<\/p>\n
Phoenix has the bodies to partially make up for Williams\u2019 absence. A competent center rotation of Khaman Maluach, Nick Richards and Oso Ighodaro could still be formed. The pecking order is unclear, as Malauch is raw and Ighodaro has shown enough flashes to deserve minutes, while Richards is the largest known commodity out of the three.<\/p>\n
While the depth is there, it still should not be used as an excuse or reason as to why Williams\u2019 absences are OK. He needs to play, and situations like this one are exactly why it\u2019s unlikely he and the Suns reach an agreement on an extension off his rookie deal by the deadline on Oct. 20. Williams\u2019 side is likely looking for far more guaranteed money than the Suns feel safe in offering before they see him play a more complete season.<\/p>\n
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