Chicago Bulls and disappointment. Name a better duo. You can't. Those two are pretty much synonymous already at this point ever since Chicago built its “Big Three” of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic. With a 3-6 record, the Bulls are once again off to a disappointing start to the 2023-24 NBA season. The fact that the players already held a players' only meeting one game into the season should be telling of just how this season is already going to go for the Bulls.
There are a lot of things to be disappointed about the Bulls. Their offense has remained bad despite having three elite offensive talents in DeRozan, LaVine, and Vucevic. The defense that was top-five in the NBA last season has taken a massive nosedive. The Bulls are now just 23rd in defensive rating this season. Amidst all this mess, there is one player who has been particularly disappointing and that's Patrick Williams.
Bulls' biggest disappointment this season: Patrick Williams
To say that Patrick Williams is off to a sluggish start to his fourth NBA season is an understatement. The 22-year-old is having a nightmare campaign so far that he has already lost his starting job to NBA journeyman Torrey Craig. Once praised by LeBron James, Williams' fall this season has been pretty notable, even in the midst of everything Chicago is going through.
Drafted 4th overall by the Bulls in 2021, Williams was once seen as a key piece for the franchise's future plans. They kept him off trades as they looked to build around Zach LaVine. Heck, some people even dubbed him as a second-coming of Kawhi Leonard.
Now, that may be stretching it a bit, as Leonard is an all-time great NBA player. But those comparisons were warranted because of their similar builds and games. Like Leonard, Williams has large hands and long limbs that has always made him an intriguing defensive talent in the NBA.
Shooting struggles
Unfortunately, things are not looking good for the 22-year-old.
The 6-foot-7 wing's scoring production has been cut nearly in half. He went from averaging 10.2 points in the 2022-23 season to just 5.6 points this year.
In addition, Williams' efficiency has also taken a massive hit. He is shooting a horrendous 31.7 percent from the field and 23.3 percent from beyond the three-point arc. This is after he shot 46.4 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from long distance in the 2022-23 campaign.
His true shooting percentage of 39.9 percentage is the second-worst among all players who have played at least five games and average at least 20 minutes a night. That is a massive drop off from his career true shooting percentage of 57.5 percentage, which is around league average.
Bad timing
Williams' slow start individually is unfortunate considering he will enter restricted free agency after he and the Bulls failed to agree on a contract extension prior to the start of the season. Zach Lowe of ESPN said on his podcast last month that Williams is reportedly expecting a fat deal — something within the ballpark of $20 million per year.
However, with the way his season is going so far, he could command much less than that. Nonetheless, the season is still young and Williams' shooting should eventually go back to the mean.
Still, his lack of progress offensively at this point of his career is quite concerning. Sure, he's one of the best young defenders in the NBA. But the lack of production caps his ceiling as a player.
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