The Chicago Bulls front office is taking a lot of heat this offseason, most recently surrounding the re-signing of forward Patrick Williams. The five-year, $90 million deal earned a ‘D’ grade from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, and it’s hard to disagree.
Pelton summarized it by saying, “This contract for Williams seems like the latest case of the Chicago front office overvaluing the talent on the team’s own roster, which has produced below-.500 results each of the past two seasons.”
What Williams Is (And Isn’t)
After playing just one season at Florida State, Williams was drafted No. 4 overall by the Bulls in the 2020 NBA Draft. Entering the league at just 19 years old, the expectations weren’t that Williams would instantly be a star, but that he’d need time to develop.
Williams was a solid but unspectacular player for the Seminoles, appearing in 29 games, all off the bench. He showed flashes of NBA-ready defense, managing to finish in the top-20 in the ACC in total blocks (13th), defensive rating (17th) and steal percentage (15th).
Jonathan Givony of Draft Express was impressed with William’s size, noting he “Has an ideal physical profile for a forward at 6-foot-8, 225 pounds, with a wingspan around 7-foot. Length and athleticism to defender smaller players, plus a powerful frame that should allow him to switch onto big men.”
Four years into his NBA career, that development has yet to come to fruition. His versatility should lend itself to guarding multiple positions and being able to cover the court, but his numbers don’t show much success there. According to NBA.com/stats, Williams allows a ghastly 47.1% on corner 3’s and 67.8% in the restricted area. For context, among players who average defending at least five corner 3’s per game, Williams is dead last.
A foot injury ended William’s 2023-24 season, with him appearing in just 43 games. His production resembled that of a role player, with averages of 10 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. In addition to the defensive issues, Williams hasn’t shown enough growth in his offensive game.
The glimmer of hope for Williams is that his 3-point shooting has been a relative strength. After shooting 51.7% in 2021-22 with a small sample size (1.7 3PA/game), Williams made 41.5% on 3.4 attempts per game in 2022-23. He stepped back to 39.9% on the same amount of attempts last season.
Same Old Story For Bulls Front Office
Regardless of what metric you use, Williams earning $90 million over the next five years is not a reward for his production, but rather a bet on his potential. Even then, it seems only the Bulls front office sees something there.
This faux pas comes on the heels of the Bulls sending off fan favorite Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for Josh Giddey. Add the inability to move Zach LaVine, passing on a mid-season Andre Drummond trade that resulted in him walking away for nothing and the desperate hope that they can complete a sign-and-trade to get something back for DeMar DeRozan and it’s not hard to see why the front office continues to draw the fans’ ire.
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