Suns big man Alan Williams underwent a meniscus repair of his right knee today in Phoenix, the team announced in a press release. According to the announcement from the Suns, Williams will miss most of the 2017/18 season after undergoing the procedure — he’s on track to return to full basketball activity in approximately six months.
Williams suffered the injury last Monday when he landed on a teammate’s foot during a workout, per Marc Spears and Chris Haynes of ESPN. It’s another unfortunate blow for a Suns team that has already been hit hard by knee injuries this offseason. Brandon Knight tore his ACL and is expected to miss the entire 2017/18 season, while rookie Davon Reed will miss several months with a meniscus injury of his own.
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Williams, 24, took a step forward with the Suns in 2016/17. Although he only averaged 15.1 minutes per contest in 47 games overall, he was very productive when he played, recording 17.6 points and 14.8 rebounds per 36 minutes, and seemed poised to take on a bigger role going forward for the club.
A free agent this summer, Williams signed a three-year deal worth just over $17MM with the Suns. The second and third years of that contract are non-guaranteed, so it will be interesting to see if the young forward/center remains in Phoenix’s long-term plans next summer.
In the short term, bigs like Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, and the newly re-signed Alex Len could see a few extra minutes in the Suns’ frontcourt. If the team uses some smaller lineups, players like T.J. Warren, Jared Dudley or rookie Josh Jackson could see expanded roles.
He played really well when he saw extended minutes last year really would’ve been great to see him take another step forward this year
The NBA really needs to bring back the injured list. The Suns are forced to keep all three of their injured players on their 15 man roster despite none of them being able to contribute. Not to mention the fact that it costs three guys a chance to prove they can play in the NBA either with Phoenix or somewhere else when the injured come back.
I know the 5 day DL was manipulated and that it why it is gone. But if they put in something like a 60 day DL just for guys out for at least two months, it would help across the board. Davon Reed might get caught in a roster crunch and never get a chance to be an NBA player simply because a few teammates got hurt at the same time as him. It’s something that needs to be fixed.
Really sad news. Watching him develop last year was one of the few bight spots in an otherwise dismal season.
The challenge for big Al will be staying fit, keeping his weight down and letting leaner. He could truly become Oliver Miller if he’s not diligent.
This one hurts.