Suns’ Alan Williams To Miss Six Months

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.

[RELATED: Phoenix Suns’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]

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.

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