Suns lose their starting center

Phoenix announced on a Friday that starting center Mark Williams is out for an extended stretch with a shoulder injury.

Torn labrum, surgery done

Williams had surgery Thursday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The team said the injury happened during an offseason workout.

“underwent successful surgery on Thursday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder”

No official timeline

The Suns' statement stopped short of a return date, saying a timetable would be set later. That leaves the team in wait-and-see mode.

“A timetable for his return to play will be established at a later date.”

Insider says five months

Arizona Sports' John Gambadoro reported on X that the expectation is at least five months of recovery from the shoulder surgery.

“we should expect at least 5 months recovering from shoulder surgery”

That means mid February

Five months from September lands Williams around mid February, which points to a return just after the All-Star break.

Ighodaro already has reps

Oso Ighodaro filled in last season when Williams hurt his left foot, playing from early March through the Suns' playoff exit.

“He just connects. He just kinda fills some gaps”

Ott likes the fit

Head coach Jordan Ott has praised Ighodaro's athleticism and rim running at the five, and pointed out he is only in his second year.

“We often forget it's only his second year. Oso's been great.”

Maluach gets his opening

The former top ten pick now has a clear path to minutes. He is raw, but the size, athleticism and rim protection are real.

“the overall size and rim protection, you can feel it every second he's out there”

Three weeks to sort it out

Training camp opens in about three weeks, giving Phoenix time to rework the rotation before games count.