After years of bad draft lottery luck, the Chicago Bulls finally got a top-five pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The fourth pick is the highest selection the Bulls have had since 2008, when they chose Derrick Rose first overall. Chicago selected Patrick Williams, a high-upside athlete with the potential to be an elite defender.
Although unrealistic, Williams was compared to Kawhi Leonard during his rookie year. He is 6-foot-7, has a 7-foot wingspan, and even has a hairstyle similar to Leonard’s.
Williams was even nicknamed “The Paw” as a play on Leonard’s nickname, “The Claw.” Coming out of college, the one word used to describe Williams was “raw.”
Williams did not start at Florida State and would always be a project player. However, if developed correctly, he was seen as the potential steal of the draft. Nbadraft.net’s 2020 NBA mock draft included a perfect player profile for Williams.
“What Williams is missing is consistency and maturity, which is natural in a freshman,” said Aran Smith, founder of Nbadraft.net. “He has the profile of the type of player that a team drafts only to watch him struggle before finally finding himself and seeing his best years come with another team.”
Over his four seasons in Chicago, Williams has not shown significant improvement.
WHAT HAS GONE WRONG?
Patrick Williams has had a chaotic start to his career.
In his rookie year, the Bulls traded for Nikola Vucevic, and in the offseason, they traded for DeMar DeRozan. While Williams tried to fit into his new offensive role in his second season, he broke his wrist and missed 65 games. In his third season, he showed signs of improvement, averaging the highest points per game of his career (10.2) while shooting 41.5% from three.
Last season, Williams averaged 10 points per game for the second time before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left foot. This offseason, the Bulls traded away DeRozan and increased their team’s pace, giving Williams more opportunity to score.
Williams’ role has changed every year he has been in the league. However, the Bulls were still confident enough in his potential to give him a five-year, fully guaranteed $90 million contract extension.
However, Williams has not lived up to his draft stock or contract. Even with more opportunity, his points and field goal percentage have dropped.
Williams has always been praised for his defense, but his struggles on that end of the floor have led to his benching in the fourth quarter this season. He has the lowest plus/minus on the team. The Bulls, who are second in points allowed per game, are at their worst with Williams on the court.
When asked about his struggles, Williams could not provide an answer.
“I never want to be bad at anything on the court,” Williams told the Chicago Tribune. “I work really hard at it. I don’t have one reason that I can give you for any of it.”
PANIC FROM THE BULLS
The Bulls have been unable to cut their losses and give up on Williams.
He is still only 23 years old and still has potential, but he has not developed since entering the league. So why did the Bulls give him a fully guaranteed $90 million contract?
They panicked.
Williams was the first pick for Bulls General Manager Marc Eversley and Vice President Artūras Karnišovas. The contract was a hopeful decision by Chicago’s front office, who feared they would regret it if Williams blossomed with another team.
If Williams developed offensively with his new opportunity, $18 million a year would not be a bad deal. But since he has shown no improvement, the contract extension now makes it difficult for the Bulls to move on. The deal is now ranked fourth in The Lead’s top five worst NBA contracts.
Right now, Williams doesn’t deserve to start on the second-worst defensive team in the league. His age is the only thing in his favor.
Even if the Bulls don’t see him as part of their future, they are locked in unless they can find a trade partner willing to take on his contract.
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