Suns coach Jordan Ott gives update on Mark Williams, Jalen Green
Jordan Ott gives updates on injured players who might miss the season opener.
The Phoenix Suns completed their final scrimmage healthy ahead of their regular-season opener.Mark Williams is expected to play in the opener, but Jalen Green will be out with a hamstring injury.
The Phoenix Suns came out of their scrimmage Saturday, Oct. 18, healthy, with the 2025-26 regular season opener just days away.
“These days are tough,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said at the team’s practice facility. “Before an off day. All the other excuses you could make, but we clearly laid out we wanted to get something done today.
“We had a little breakdown before, but we scrimmaged. Got three really good quarters in. Overall, got through it healthy, which is a big piece at this time of the year.”
The Suns open Wednesday, Oct. 22, against the Sacramento Kings at Mortgage Matchup Center.
“We’re going to go out there and play against each other, play hard, but we also have to protect ourselves, and we did a great job and got through it,” Ott said.
“Those decisions are always tough and he made it really tough.”
Jordan Ott on waiving Jared Butler.
“He played well and (Jordan Goodwin) played well.”
On Goodwin: “There’s an edge. There’s a defensive piece. He played well. He played really well since he’s been here.” #Suns pic.twitter.com/sMa1zShPP5
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 18, 2025
Jalen Green remains out after reinjuring his left hamstring during last week’s trip to China. Green will miss the first game, but Mark Williams, who participated in the scrimmage, is on course to play opening night.
“This was the most minutes he’s seen in a scrimmage that we’ve played,” Ott said. “Mark is big. You can see his size out there, both ends. Offensively, puts pressure on the rim. Defensively, when someone is driving in there, you have to make the decision.
“Are you really going to try to threaten the rim, or are you going to have to kick out? He’s in a good spot.”
The Kings will be without their All-Star center, Domantas Sabonis, for the opener because of a hamstring strain. He missed Sacramento’s preseason win Oct. 17 over the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Sabonis will be re-evaluated in a week, the Kings announced Saturday.
Ott addressed the possible Suns center rotation, saying it must be “fluid” when determining who plays. Phoenix traded two first-round picks to Charlotte in landing Williams, who is expected to start but didn’t play in the team’s four preseason games.
Oso Ighodaro started at center in the first three preseason games while Nick Richards served as the backup. Ighodaro and Richards rested the last preseason game, Oct. 14, against the Lakers, leaving Khaman Maluach to start.
“It is going to be a fluid,” Ott said. “We’re all new to all this. The work and production matters most. There’s been some of that we’ve seen in our building for the last however-many months. Mark has done it. Mark has done it at a high level. Nick has done it. Oso spent one year in the league and ‘Man-Man’ (Maluach), we’re trying to figure out.”
In a matchup against former Suns center Deandre Ayton, Maluach posted 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 31 minutes of Phoenix’s 113-104 win over the Lakers.
“We just scrimmaged. Got three really good quarters in. Overall got through it healthy, which is a big piece at this time of the year. Have to protect ourselves.”
Jordan Ott on Saturday’s scrimmage.
On Mark Williams: “This was the most minutes he’s seen in a scrimmage that… pic.twitter.com/ZsKVSqAD2b
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 18, 2025
“This is his first season,” Ott said. “We saw it in the preseason as well as summer league. The highs and lows. That’s what young guys do. On a night-to-night basis, we’ll have a plan going into it, but we have to be a little fluid as coaches and kind of read the games and see exactly who is impacting winning out there on the court on a night-to-night basis.”
Ott also addressing waiving Jared Butler, who was on an Exhibit 9 non-guaranteed deal.
The 6-3 guard out of Baylor scored 35 points, going 5-of-9 from 3, nine assists to zero turnovers, and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s home victory over Los Angeles.
“Those decisions are always tough and he made it really tough,” Ott said about Butler, who has played for four NBA teams in four seasons.
Jordan Ott on Suns center rotation with Mark Williams, Nick Richards, Oso Ighodaro and rookie Khaman Maluach. “It is going to be a fluid. We’re all new to all this. The work and production matters most. There’s been some of that we’ve seen in our building for the last however… pic.twitter.com/fWdqKI3jch
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 19, 2025
“He was part of us for multiple months. He really helped our group. Helped his teammates. Helped our intensity of camp. … Hopefully at the end of it, JB (Butler) knows that we tried to do the best we could. Hopefully, we helped him.”
The Suns have 14 players on their standard roster, leaving one slot open. NBA teams must have their standard rosters down to 15 players by the start of the regular season, Tuesday, Oct. 21.
Jordan Goodwin scored 24 points, going 3-of-7 from 3, and added six assists to four turnovers and four rebounds in Phoenix’s final preseason game. The 6-3 guard out of St. Louis was with the Suns in 2023-24, played for the Lakers last season and is now back in Phoenix.
“There’s an edge,” Ott said. “There’s a defensive piece. He played well. He’s played really well since he’s been here.”
Goodwin ended the game with a plus-14 in the win over the Lakers. Butler was a plus-1.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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