Patrick Williams on the block
It’s hard to call the Bulls’ embarrassing loss Friday to the Hornets rock bottom for their front office, especially when the floor continues sinking. It’s no secret executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has been actively shopping veterans Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic since the summer, hoping to acquire draft assets and build a better future. But now it’s becoming clear that even some pieces the Bulls were counting on to be part of that future are looking more suspect than prospect. A source Saturday told the Sun-Times that Karnisovas finally has bought in to the idea that 23-year-old forward Patrick Williams needs a change of scenery, opening the door for him to be on the trade block, too.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
What's the buzz on Twitter?
Chicago Bulls shopping Patrick Williams before trade deadline sportando.basketball/en/chicago-bul… - 3:08 AM
Billy Donovan on Patrick Williams: “We need more rebounding from him.”
Williams failed to grab board in 16:55 - 10:40 PM
Subplot as Bulls mount furious comeback: Patrick Williams remains on bench and only has played 17 minutes.
Other development projects Dalen Terry (6 minutes) and Matas Buzelis (4 minutes) have barely played - 10:12 PM
After sitting out almost entire 12-minute span, Patrick Williams just played 3:45 before exiting again. He has only played 17 minutes thus far. - 9:58 PM
Patrick Williams knows he isn’t living up to expectations.
But the former No. 4 pick still can’t tell what’s gone wrong — or how to fix it.
Went long with Patrick on the missed dunks, ball handling and shaky confidence that have defined Year 5.
chicagotribune.com/2025/01/16/chi… - 10:02 AM
More on this storyline
The Bulls’ coaching staff has been trying to unlock Williams’ potential for years. And while he has had setbacks with injuries, the source said Williams hasn’t been easy to work with. As is the case with most NBA teams, individual coaches are matched up with individual players, and there has been frustration on both sides with previous matchups. The source stressed that Williams hasn’t been volatile or difficult in terms of his behavior. It’s more about him not being completely comfortable to buy in to what’s being communicated. -via Chicago Sun-Times / January 19, 2025
The truth is, he’s just as frustrated as anyone else. He knows he’s not living up to expectations. Averaging 9.4 points and four rebounds in his fifth NBA season isn’t exactly fitting the bill of a promising young star. But Williams still can’t figure out what’s wrong — or how to fix it. “It’s obviously a challenge,” Williams told the Tribune. “I never want to be bad at anything on the court. I always want to try to make the right play. I work really hard at it. I don’t have one reason that I can give you for any of it.” -via Chicago Tribune / January 16, 2025
Williams went 51-for-54 on dunk attempts in his rookie season, according to Basketball Reference. He didn’t slow down in his second season, completing his first 11 dunk attempts before dislocating his left wrist in the fifth game of the season. When he returned from surgery five months later, Williams was a different player. Whatever edge he possessed as an attacker had dissolved during recovery. Williams became tentative on the glass and timid with the ball in his hands. And then the lowlights began — dunks that died at the rim, slipped from his grip to ricochet off the backboard, caromed off the iron to fly skyward. Since returning from the wrist injury, Williams is 94-for-132 (71.2%) on dunk attempts. This season, he has made only four of nine attempts, including the finish against the Pelicans on Tuesday. Two of his completed dunks this season occurred in the same game — a Nov. 13 upset of the New York Knicks, which also was Williams’ highest-scoring game of the season (18 points). -via Chicago Tribune / January 16, 2025
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Patrick Williams on the block
