Patrick Williams’ regression has been the Chicago Bulls’ biggest letdown thus far in the 2023–24 NBA season, amidst the mess that is the team.
Chicago Bulls and heartbreak. Name a superior pair. Not at all. Since DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic formed Chicago’s “Big Three,” those two have become practically interchangeable. The Bulls are once again off to a dismal start to the 2023–24 NBA season, currently sitting at 3-6. One game into the season, the players held their first players-only meeting, which should tell you a lot about how the Bulls’ season will start out.
There are numerous reasons to be dissatisfied with the Bulls. Despite having three outstanding offensive players in DeRozan, LaVine, and Vucevic, their offence has remained poor. The defence, which finished last season ranked in the top five in the NBA, has drastically declined. The Bulls’ defensive rating for the season is currently only 23rd. Patrick Williams has been a particularly disappointing player in the middle of all this chaos.
The greatest letdown for the Bulls this season: William Patrick
Williams, who the Bulls selected with the fourth overall pick in 2021, was once thought to be a crucial component of the team’s future goals. As they attempted to assemble around Zach LaVine, they refrained from trading him. In fact, some have even referred to him as Kawhi Leonard’s second coming.
Given that Leonard is among the greatest NBA players of all time, that might be going a bit too far. But given their similar games and builds, those comparisons were justified. Similar to Leonard, Williams is a long-limbed player with large hands, which has always made him a fascinating defensive prospect in the NBA.
Shooting struggles
Regretfully, the 22-year-old’s situation does not appear favourable.
The 6-foot-7 wing’s scoring output has decreased by almost 50%. His 2022–2023 season average of 10.2 points dropped to just 5.6 points this year.
Williams’ effectiveness has also significantly decreased. Horrible percentages are being shot by him from the field (31.7%) and beyond the three-point arc (23.3%). This comes after a 2022–2023 campaign in which he shot 41.6 percent from long range and 46.4 percent from the field.
His 39.9 true shooting percentage is the second-worst of all players who have averaged at least 20 minutes per night and at least five games played. Compared to his career true shooting percentage of 57.5 percent, which is about league average, that is a significant decline.
Poor timing
Given that he will enter restricted free agency after he and the Bulls were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension before the season began, Williams’s slow start on the court is regrettable. Last month, ESPN’s Zach Lowe revealed on his podcast that Williams is supposedly hoping for a big contract, roughly $20 million annually.
But given how his season is starting out, he might be able to get much less than that. However, Williams’ shooting should eventually return to the mean as the season is still early.
Even so, it’s alarming that he hasn’t improved offensively at this stage of his career. He is undoubtedly among the NBA’s top young defenders. However, the deficiency in output limits his potential as a player.