Williams was one of the feel-good stories during the Suns’ 23-59 season, as the native Phoenician, who went undrafted out UC Santa Barbara in 2015, parlayed a successful stint in the Chinese Basketball Association into a 10-day contract with his hometown team in March. When the Suns’ frontcourt was banged up down the stretch, Williams received a de facto audition for the 2016-17 campaign, appearing in 10 games and averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds over 6.8 minutes per game. He carried that excellent per-minute production over to the summer, when he earned First-Team All-NBA Summer League honors after averaging a double-double (11.8 points, 11.2 rebounds per game) across six contests with the Suns’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. Though Williams’ contract isn’t guaranteed for the upcoming season, Suns GM Ryan McDonough intimated that the 6-foot-8 center would maintain his roster spot following his strong showing late in 2015-16 and in summer league. Despite being undersized for his position, Williams’ relentless effort on the glass should lock him into the third-string role behind Tyson Chandler and Alex Len.