Tag: Patrick Williams

All eyes are on this summer for the Chicago Bulls. After missing the playoffs this past season, they have a ton of tough decisions to make if they hope to get back into the postseason conversation. It all starts with Nikola Vucevic and free agency, but there are some other decisions they have to make as well.

It’s fallen under the radar, but Patrick Williams is contract extension eligible this offseason. While his counting stats didn’t take a huge jump this past season, Williams looked good in his third NBA season. And at 21 years old, he still has plenty of room to grow.

During a recent edition of the NBA Front Office Show podcast, Keith Smith of Spotrac unveiled what he believes an extension for Williams could look like. He said the Bulls shouldn’t feel uncomfortable handing him a De’Andre Hunter-like extension, depending on their other financial decisions. Hunter landed a four-year, $95 million extension with the Atlanta Hawks ahead of this past season.

“I don’t know that I’d feel super uncomfortable with giving him like De’Andre Hunter-ish extension,” Smith said. “I think he’s shown just as much as Hunter had shown at that point in his career. So, I really liked Patrick Williams.”

Hunter’s counting stats look more impressive than Williams’, but he’s also been given a larger role in Atlanta’s offense than Williams has been handed in Chicago.

With his solid defensive presence and ever-improving three-point shot, Williams should be a valuable asset in Chicago for years to come. A Hunter-like extension may seem rich, but Williams’ potential as a two-way player is through the roof.

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When the season ended, Arturas Karnisovas made it clear that he has no intention of rebuilding the Chicago Bulls. Instead, he plans to run it back and make another playoff push next year. There’s always a chance he changes his mind this summer, but barring that, it seems as though most of last season’s Chicago squad will be back next year.

Obviously, the play of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic will be the most important, but other Bulls will have to step up, too. According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, however, Patrick Williams‘ improvement will also be crucial. The 21-year-old forward could be due for an increased role.

“Of the team’s younger players,” Smith wrote. “Patrick Williams has to have a bigger role next season. He upped his three-point shooting in both volume and percentage. Williams also improved his off-the-dribble game. This season is an opportunity for the team’s veterans to cede even more responsibility towards Williams, as his growth is paramount.”

Williams missed nearly all of his sophomore season due to injury, but even outside of that, he has failed to make significant improvements in his three-year career.

If the Bulls want to take things to the next level, they desperately need him to improve as a shooter and embrace a larger role. At the same time, Chicago needs to allow him room to grow.

The veterans on the roster should make it their mission next season to cultivate Williams’ growth, as the Bulls will only reach their ceiling if he does.

The fate of the Chicago Bulls’ postseason hopes will be decided in Wednesday’s play-in game against the Toronto Raptors.

If Chicago wins, they’ll move on to play the loser of the matchup between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. If the Bulls lose to the Raptors, their season is over.

One obstacle in playing the Raptors will be their size advantage, which Bulls coach Billy Donovan referenced following Friday’s win against the Dallas Mavericks.

“The biggest challenge that we’ve had against them is just their size,” Donovan said. “They play really, really big.”

Per K.C. Johnson of NBCS Chicago, Donovan spoke on the matchup with Toronto, which brought up the question whether the Bulls would consider starting Patrick Williams to give Chicago more size.

“I’m not opposed to that at all. Obviously, they’re all going to play,” Donovan said of potentially starting Williams. “I do think that they’re obviously a really big and physical team. And they’re one of the better rebounding teams in the league. But to be quite honest, I think some of our difficulties rebounding have had very little to do with size.”

Williams would add a lot more size on the glass and defensively but would take away from the starting unit with Patrick Beverley and Alex Caruso, which has played been one of the best defensive units since Beverley’s arrival.

“I think it’s been more the consistency of what you have to do, whether it be rotational boxouts or guys running to the rim. We could be bigger and still not rebound well enough. I think there are things technique-wise that we have to do to be better.”

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The Chicago Bulls brought back the majority of their roster from last season with hopes of taking a leap past their first-round playoff loss.

As for taking an individual leap, Bulls forward Patrick Williams is confident in his growth as a player, which is a necessity for Chicago to ascend in the Eastern Conference.

Williams spoke to the media after Sunday’s practice on his progress this season.

“I told you I was going to figure it out. I think I’m still figuring it out. But I’m 100 percent locked in on being the player that I want to be,” Williams said following Sunday’s practice. “I always felt I had what it took to be a really good player in this league. But now I’m starting to feel like I have what it takes to be a star and a superstar in this league. I’m kind of trying to take that role on and build on it day-by-day.”

On media day, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said that the team needed Williams to ‘take another step’ for not just his own growth as a player but for the team to reach another level.

“I think it’s definitely a team effort. Guys have been telling me this since my rookie year and before that since high school and college. Kind of trying to take it in my own mind now and show that on the court,” Williams said.

Williams started the season off slow as he struggled with being aggressive on the offensive end, which led to Donovan opting to give more minutes to guys like Javonte Green. But, over the last nine games, Williams is averaging 11.2 points while shooting 50% from the floor and 56.7% from 3-point range.

“I think I started out in a slump, and I got myself out of that. Obviously, the coaching staff and talking to my teammates definitely helped. But I think I got myself out of that just mentally,” Williams said. “I know it hurts the team when I don’t play as well on either end. I’m pretty proud of myself just in terms of how I went about it. Tried to be the same guy each day I came in here and continued to talk to my teammates.”

With Williams’ confidence growing, the Bulls’ third-year forward could finally start reaching his potential.

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