PHOENIX — The Suns open the preseason Monday in Detroit with a cleaner injury list than the one that wrecked last fall. Coach Jordan Ott said Saturday that everyone except center Mark Williams is available.
Williams is expected to miss several months with a shoulder injury, with a return projected around February. Last preseason started badly when Jalen Green had a hamstring setback, and the injuries kept coming even as Phoenix outperformed expectations. Ott told Arizona Sports the club will mix and match across five exhibition games, which means some planned nights off over the next two weeks.
Depth is the selling point. Phoenix kept Jordan Goodwin and Collin Gillespie and added Koa Peat and Luke Kennard. Ott said he would like to play nine or ten players to start the season and called the group competitive, with young players and veterans both improved. Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming are in line for rotation development.
Gillespie described the second unit as a group that is supposed to change the pace, guard for 94 feet, and stay loud when the starters sit. “These guys are going to get us off to a good start, and then we come and we take it up another level,” he said. Tip for the opener is Monday in Detroit.