2017 NBA free agency grades: Suns agree to re-sign Alan Williams

The Phoenix Suns’ first move of free agency will be keeping restricted free agent Alan Williams, re-signing Sauce to a three-year deal.

It took more than a week, but the Phoenix Suns finally made their first move of the 2017 NBA free agency period.

As reported by The Vertical‘s Shams Charania Sunday night, the Suns have agreed to re-sign backup center Alan Williams to a three-year, $17 million deal, keeping the Phoenix native in the Valley to continue playing for his hometown team.

Until last season, “Big Sauce” was known more for his bench celebrations than his actual game, quickly developing a reputation as one of the NBA’s most supportive and animated teammates on the sidelines. But with the Suns’ youth movement in full swing after the 2017 NBA All-Star break, Williams made the most of an uptick in minutes to close the season out strong.

On the year, he only averaged 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game, but those numbers rose to 11.4 points and 9.1 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game after the break. Despite being undersized at 6’8″, Williams used his strength, sheer mass and old school hustle to outwork and bully his opponents down low, shooting 51.7 percent from the field.

He probably won’t be able to take his competition by surprise anymore, but with the Suns shoveling out minutes to their younger players, Sauce actually outshone starting center Alex Len down the stretch.

With both Williams and Len being restricted free agents this summer and Tyson Chandler inching closer and closer to the trade block, Phoenix made its first move to secure a little frontcourt depth at the 5 — a much-needed move with Marquese Chriss not being sound enough or Dragan Bender being strong enough to serve as defensive anchors at that position just yet.

After going undrafted out of UC Santa Barbara in 2015, Alan Williams signed a deal to play in China before signing a two-year deal with the Suns near the end of the 2015-16 season.

Thanks to his rebounding skills, non-stop energy and constant, lively support for his teammates, Sauce was able to carve out a role for himself as the team’s backup center, proving himself as one of the league’s most productive per-minute players.

At just under $6 million a season, the Suns did extremely well to re-sign a productive backup. He’s by no means a legitimate replacement for Len, who still has the higher ceiling between the two, but Williams has quickly become a high-end reserve at 24 years old, even earning the Dan Majerle Hustle Award last year.

Though he’s a little limited defensively, Williams has only played in the NBA for a season and change now. His size may always limit him a bit on that end, but as the league goes increasingly smaller, having someone with such elite rebounding capabilities is a smart idea.

This deal won’t make much noise outside the Valley, nor does it address the Suns’ need for a long-term, surefire starter at the center position. It does, however, secure a fan favorite on a very favorable contract as #TheTimeline continues to take shape.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

Grade: A-