Suns Sign Duop Reath After Mark Williams' Shoulder Injury Adds to Brutal Medical History

The Phoenix Suns just watched their newly paid center's shoulder give out, so they are doing what any desperate franchise does: calling up a guy who was recently waived by the Atlanta Hawks.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Suns are signing big man Duop Reath to patch up a frontcourt that just lost Mark Williams for several months to a shoulder injury.

"Sources tell ESPN the Suns are signing Duop Reath with Mark Williams sidelined for several months."

Let's talk about Williams for a second. The Suns just handed him a three-year, $38 million contract to be their anchor in the paint. Instead, he is adding a shoulder surgery to a medical chart that already reads like a WebMD symptom checker. Over the last few years, Williams has missed time for his foot, calf, knee, back, ankle, and thumb. At this point, his skeleton is the most heavily taxed entity in Maricopa County.

Enter Reath. The former Portland Trail Blazers center is stepping in to eat minutes, bringing his career averages of 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds to the desert. Reath has had his own brutal injury luck, undergoing foot surgery back in January before getting traded to the Hawks and subsequently waived.

If you are looking at Suns futures or trying to figure out their nightly rotation, this is a massive red flag for their interior defense. Reath is a great story—a guy who ground his way to a standard NBA deal in Portland at age 27—but asking him to replace a $38 million rim protector is like putting a screen door on a submarine.

Phoenix will have to survive the first half of the season with a patchwork frontcourt. Expect Reath to get immediate run, but the Suns are going to be a massive target for opposing offenses in the paint until Williams finally gets cleared to return.