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If Patrick Williams was a little older or not a relatively recent top-five pick (No. 4 in 2020), he could have been a candidate to sign a prove-it pact this offseason. His game has shown little discernible growth across four NBA campaigns, and half of those seasons were hugely impacted by injuries.
Yet, that’s not how the Bulls operate. They have been stubbornly committed to their core—though that grip appears to be loosening finally—and here showed their stubborn commitment to the idea the 22-year-old may yet make good on those old Kawhi Leonard 2.0 talks.
This is an upside wager on someone who has yet to display even hints of tapping into that potential. He looks more or less like the same player he was as a teenage rookie in the Windy City. He debuted in 2020-21 with a 10.5 player efficiency rating, a 56.2 true shooting percentage and a minus-2.4 box plus/minus. This past season, he had an 11.0 PER, a 55.3 true shooting percentage and a minus-2.3 BPM.
Williams shoots threes at a solid clip (career 41 percent), but he doesn’t take enough of them to demand heavy defensive attention (2.8 attempts per game). His two-point percentage has backtracked each of the past two seasons, most recently bottoming out at just 47.4 percent. He offers versatility on defense but isn’t a high-impact player on that end. He’s had a negative defensive box plus/minus in two of the past three seasons.
Chicago can’t be thinking all of the above is worth an annual $18 million salary, right? This has to be about him growing into something greater, doesn’t it? But what’s the basis for that belief beyond his age? What developmental milestones has he hit to convince these decision-makers he’s on the right track? What about the organization’s developmental program makes people believe this team will bring out his best?
The Bulls surely felt Williams was too valuable of an asset to let walk, but that was never a risk due to his restricted status. They could have let the market set his rate, or at least let him shop around for an offer sheet and quite possibly discover the dollars he envisioned being there weren’t actually on the table.
They should have negotiated for something better than a contract of this size for someone with these stats and few, if any, signs of improvement.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on X, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
