Bulls coach Billy Donovan says there’s a “very good possibility” that second-year forward Patrick Williams will return during the regular season, barring any setbacks, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Donovan hedged the statement by saying he’s not sure when Williams might return and it isn’t certain, but he’s optimistic about the forward’s recovery progress.
Williams has been sidelined since late October after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist. At the time, the Bulls gave a recovery timeline of four-to-six months.
The end of February would be four months out from surgery. If Williams returns around that time, he’d have roughly 20 regular season games left to build up his endurance and get a rhythm prior to a potential playoff run. If it’s closer to the end of March, there would be less than 10 games remaining. Chicago’s last regular season game is April 10, at Minnesota.
Williams, 20, was the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft and played strong defense last season as a rookie, starting all 71 games in which he appeared and averaging 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per contest. He’s played just five games this season due to the wrist injury.
Last month Williams made progress in his recovery, going from a hard cast to a removable brace. His name has been floated in trade rumors this season, but the Bulls are very high on the young forward and reportedly remain resistant to the idea of discussing him in trades, unless they’re overwhelmed by an offer.
The Bulls have dealt with a multitude of injuries to key players this season, including Williams, Zach LaVine (knee, back spasms), Lonzo Ball (knee surgery), Derrick Jones Jr. (knee), and Alex Caruso (wrist surgery). LaVine will miss his second straight game Sunday with back spasms, Johnson tweets.
Despite the injury woes, the resilient Bulls are first in the East with a 33-19 record, led by a stellar season from All-Star starter DeMar DeRozan.
If he actually returns I will promise to take the Bulls seriously.
Otherwise…I won’t.
Gotta get that trade value up!
Irrelevant to trade value.
Shut up with that trade talk. Trade him for who? Overrated Jerami Grant?
That’s good news. But I’ll believe it when I see it. The regular season is not the playoffs. Bulls are having a solid yr. Still a long way to go. Just ask the Hawks.
Or the Knicks for that matter…
Knicks don’t deserve to be asked.
Hawks exposed them last yr. We know Knicks overachieved last yr. Still a rebuild we just want progress.
Don’t forget Cody White
And don’t forget Coby White either.
Or Woby Kite
Or Kodak Black
I’m no medical expert and I’m ignorant on the subject but it is amazing that Lonzo Ball can return in 6-8 weeks with a miniscus tear in the knee but it takes 6 months to return from torn ligaments in your wrist.
Too much 2K and CoD doesn’t give time for the wrists to heal lol…but he can sit while he play
That was funny. Like they say besides basketball, the other 2 things basketball players are good at is 2K and collecting paternity suits.
6’7 215 . Starting power forward? More like switch him to small forward.