Over the last few weeks we’ve seen Patrick Williams fly up the boards of draft experts around the country. He shows tremendous promise on the defensive end with his ability to run shooters off the line and force difficult closeouts.
He has strong hips and strong footwork. The Phoenix Suns shocked the NBA world when they went 8-0 in the NBA Bubble (while still missing the playoffs) and showed that they have a strong foundation with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
The Suns are showing us that they have a chance at being something more than a perennial lottery team. They’re far from contention, but with a few more pieces they’re going to be special. Williams is that piece that they need.
He shows a lot of potential with his scoring ability, the caveat is that he hasn’t shown much interest in actually doing it. In reality, this is fine. If you’re going to be a one-way player in the NBA, you’re going to get away with a lot more if that “one way” is defense.
Suns fans shouldn’t expect him to score even 15 points per game, but they can expect him to be the defensive anchor that gets sent to slow down the opposition’s best perimeter threat.
If Williams were to land in Phoenix, they’d have their definitive glue guy for the foreseeable future.