Bulls Looking To Trade Patrick Williams
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has decided to explore trade opportunities involving Patrick Williams, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
The 23-year-old power forward has experienced a decline in production during his fifth NBA season, averaging 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per night through 32 games while shooting career lows from the field (37.7%) and three-point range (36.2%).
Williams has been viewed as a project since Chicago selected him with the fourth pick in the 2020 draft. The source tells Cowley that Williams “hasn’t been easy to work with,” explaining that his attitude has been fine, but he hasn’t been comfortable enough with his role to buy into what the coaches are telling him.
Cowley explains that assistant coaches are typically assigned to certain players, and there have been “frustrations” on both sides with some of Williams’ matchups. Director of player development Peter Patton has taken over those duties this season, Cowley adds, and it seemed as though Williams was responding when he averaged 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in November.
However, through nine games in January, Williams’ numbers are down to 6.6 PPG and 2.6 RPG. Head coach Billy Donovan has been reducing his playing time and he was on the court for just 17 minutes in Friday’s home loss to Charlotte, finishing the game with five points, no rebounds and a -17 plus/minus rating.
“I don’t want to use the word concerned, but I think Patrick’s heart is in a really good place as it relates to our team, and I think he really wants to do well,” Donovan told reporters after the game. “I think the one thing he will continue to get better at, and I think I mentioned to you guys that in closeouts, and I think the next iteration, the next part of it, at least offensively, is going to end up being, ‘What are the ones I need to go in and finish, what are the ones I need to spray out? And when I do spray it out, taking care of the ball?’
“The other part of it too, for our team, we need more rebounding from him. I think he’s made the effort to try and go there, but we probably need to get a little more out of him. But I’m not concerned about him. I know this stretch for him has not been good, but he has had moments where he has been pretty good. I think he does work, I think he’s a good player. He’s up in a tough stretch right now. He’s still going through a maturation process offensively.”
The decision to trade Williams comes roughly six months after the Bulls re-signed him to a five-year, $90MM contract. As Cowley notes, Williams was a restricted free agent last summer, so Karnisovas could have let him seek an offer from a rival team and then decide whether it was in his best interest to match it. Instead, he rewarded Williams with a long-term deal that will pay him $18MM each season, including a player option for 2028/29. Given Williams’ recent production, there may not be many teams willing to take on that contract without an incentive attached.
Williams becomes the latest rumored trade candidate ahead of what could be an active deadline in Chicago. The Bulls are reportedly also looking to move Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and possibly Lonzo Ball.
Heat Notes: Butler, Spoelstra, Defense, Richardson, Jaquez
Jimmy Butler got a mixed reaction from Heat fans as he returned to the lineup Friday night following a seven-game suspension, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. There were a few boos mixed in with loud cheers as Butler was announced as part of the starting lineup. He also heard some booing the first time he touched the ball.
Both sides seem entrenched in their positions as the February 6 trade deadline nears, Chiang adds. The Heat would like to find a deal for Butler, but they’ll hold onto him until the offseason rather than making a bad trade that involves taking back unwanted contracts. They also don’t want to keep him away from the team while paying his $48.8MM salary, which is why he was back on the court Friday night.
Butler, who talked about losing his “joy” before the suspension was imposed, was asked by reporters if he thought he could rediscover it in Miami. “I was told to say no comment, so no comment,” Butler responded. He gave a similar response to a question about whether he believes the situation with the Heat can be fixed.
Coach Erik Spoelstra provided a little more insight during his pregame media session, although he declined to provide many details about how he plans to handle the situation.
“Look, we work in a league of complexity,” Spoelstra said. “We’re in an unusual place right now. But really all it is is complex and we fully plan on operating within this complexity. So it’s my job to prepare this team, get them ready to play at a high level and that’s what I’m doing. That’s what the plan is. My methods for doing it are really none of your business.”
There’s more from Miami:
- While Butler has undoubtedly been a distraction during the team’s three-game losing streak, defense has been an even bigger issue, Chiang adds in a separate story. The Heat gave up 133 points Friday night, allowing Denver to score at least 30 points in all four quarters. Chiang points out that Miami is 12-0 when holding opponents to 100 points or fewer, but just 8-20 otherwise. “I know what I saw out there from a defensive standpoint,” Spoelstra said. “It was not good enough and that’s three straight games now. We found our identity of how we can win games. Then in three games, we haven’t been able to put that together and commit to that side of the floor, and we’ve paid the price.”
- An MRI didn’t show anything significant involving the heel injury that has been keeping Josh Richardson out of the lineup, Chiang tweets. Richardson has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against San Antonio, but the team hopes he’ll be able to start preparing for a return to the lineup this week. He has only appeared in eight games so far this season.
- In an interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Jaime Jaquez credits Bam Adebayo with holding the team together through the Butler standoff. “He tries to stay extremely positive and understand that whoever is in the locker room, that’s who we’re rocking with at the moment,” Jaquez said. “We got games to win. So let’s focus on the main thing, and that’s winning games. Things that are out of our control, let’s not worry about that. Let’s try to focus on what we can control. That’s been his message.”
Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Starting Lineup, Roster Moves, Mazzulla
After scoring 23 points in 23 minutes on Friday, Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis expressed hope that he might be available for tonight’s game against Atlanta, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Porzingis is officially listed as questionable, but if he’s able to take the court, it would mark his first back-to-back since returning from offseason surgery.
“I believe so,” Porzingis responded when asked if he felt he could be ready. “But that’s a little bit out of my hands. I think tomorrow we’ll know more information.”
Robb notes that Al Horford won’t be available because he also played in Friday’s game, and the Celtics haven’t used him on both nights of a back-to-back over the past two years. The final decision on Porzingis will be made by the medical staff, and Robb points out that Boston is in the midst of playing five games in seven days, so there are reasons to exercise caution.
Porzingis has played in seven straight contests since returning from an ankle injury, and he has topped 20 points in three of his last five games.
There’s more from Boston:
- Friday marked a vintage performance for the Celtics’ starters, who were considered one of the best five-man units in the league last season, Robb states in a separate story. Limited by Porzingis’ absence early on, the group had been together for just 10 games before Friday and had a -11.8 net rating in 147 minutes. They looked back to normal in the victory over Orlando, outscoring the Magic by 15 points in their 20 minutes on the court together. “Results can vary with plus/minus and things like that,” Jayson Tatum said. “But I think just how connected we were on both ends of the floor, especially on defense. Everybody was on the same page, we were connected, helping each other out. So regardless of the plus/minus, the way we went about it was a lot better today.”
- The Celtics emphasized continuity in the offseason, bringing back virtually the same roster than won the title in 2024, but a small trade may be necessary to shake things up, Robb adds in a mailbag column. He also suggests it might be time to reduce the minutes for starting guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White in light of their recent struggles.
- Coming off Wednesday’s embarrassing loss at Toronto, coach Joe Mazzulla encouraged his players to embrace the challenges that the NBA can present, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The team has been surprisingly average over the past month or so, and Porzingis said it lacked spirit and energy in the 13-point defeat against the lowly Raptors. “To me, this is the fun part of why you enter the arena,” Mazzulla said. “Anyone who is not in the arena, they don’t have a skin in the game. You enjoy it and it’s fun. This is why you do what you do. This is why you play for the Celtics. This is why you play in the NBA. This is why you go after something that’s extremely hard to do is for the challenge of it. And to have an expectation of it being anything other than challenging is the wrong way to attack. … You can’t only enjoy things when they go your way. That’s called being spoiled.”
Warriors Notes: Curry, Kerr, Vucevic, Wiggins
The Warriors’ long downturn continued with Monday’s surprising loss at Toronto, but Stephen Curry doesn’t want management to overreact with a trade that’s not in the team’s best long-term interest, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. After starting the season 12-3, Golden State is now 12th in the West at 19-20 and appears headed for a frantic battle for one of the four play-in spots.
However, Youngmisuk notes that Curry is sticking with a philosophy that the organization has been emphasizing since training camp, which is there will be no panic involved in trade decisions, especially if it means giving up young players and future draft assets.
“Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry said. “Doesn’t mean that you’re not trying to get better. It doesn’t mean that you’re not active in any type of search to, if you have an opportunity where a trade makes sense or even in the summer free agency [move] makes sense. You want to continue to get better. Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you’re passing up opportunities. But it doesn’t mean that you’re desperate just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Coach Steve Kerr made a similar statement at Monday’s shootaround, saying it would be unwise to mortgage the future to give himself, Curry and Draymond Green a shot at another NBA title, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Kerr recognizes the need to have young talent such as Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski on hand once he and his veteran stars are gone. “That’s the hard part in addressing all this stuff,” Kerr said. “We’re not giving in. But you have to be realistic organizationally about where you are. And you have to mind what’s coming ahead in the future. I probably won’t be around, but I would tell you, if this organization gave away the next six or seven drafts for a wild swing, that would be the most irresponsible thing that they could do.”
- The front office has engaged in internal discussions about finding a center who can consistently make three-pointers to create more space for Curry and provide better lineup combinations for Green and Kuminga, Slater adds in the same piece. He mentions Nikola Vucevic as a possibility, depending on the price the Bulls would want in return.
- Remarkably, Monday marked the first game that Andrew Wiggins has played in his hometown of Toronto in seven years, according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Wiggins rejoined the team on Saturday after missing two games for personal reasons.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 1/14/2025
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included whether the Bulls need a complete rebuild, the Knicks' options to find wing help, the potential cost for the Kings to land Cameron Johnson, Bradley Beal's future and more!
Heat Notes: Butler, Adebayo, Love, Ware, Richardson
It seems increasingly likely that Jimmy Butler will be rejoining the Heat when they return from their six-game road trip, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler, who is nearing the end of his suspension, has been working out at the team facility and is expected to return to the court on Friday if he’s still on the roster.
Team officials have been hoping to resolve the situation with a trade, but they reportedly haven’t made much progress. A source tells Chiang that Miami has engaged in trade talks with several teams over the past week, but isn’t close to making a deal.
In his latest Substack column (subscriber-only), Jake Fischer dives into some of the “conduct detrimental to the team” that the Heat cited when they imposed Butler’s suspension. League sources tell Fischer that Butler has skipped several morning shootarounds and has insisted on taking private flights to some games rather than traveling on the charter with his teammates.
In addition to not getting the contract extension that he wanted, Butler’s dissatisfaction may stem from the loss of several players whom he considered to be close friends, Fischer theorizes. Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin, who were starters on the team that reached the NBA Finals in 2023, all left in free agency over the past two offseasons.
“Those were [Butler’s] guys,” a source told Fischer.
Miami isn’t willing to move Butler just to get rid of a problem, adds Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. The front office is focused on finding players who can help the team win this season while taking back as little future salary as possible. The organization wants to rebuild around Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro without being burdened by another large contract.
There’s more on the Heat:
- Adebayo was a late scratch for Monday’s game due to a lower back contusion, Chiang states in a separate story. He had been expected to play earlier in the day, but he was downgraded to questionable during the afternoon before being ruled out a few hours before game time. Adebayo was hurt Saturday in Portland when he fell to the court while trying to catch a pass. “He’s been dealing with it for a few days,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s getting a lot of treatment and it kind of seized up on him this morning. But we’ll treat him day to day and we’ll reevaluate him.”
- With Adebayo unavailable, Spoelstra gave the start to Kevin Love, who had appeared in just one of the previous 12 games, Chiang adds. Love made three three-pointers in the first seven minutes Monday night, but didn’t score again, finishing with nine points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of action. Most of the center minutes went to rookie Kel’el Ware, who had 13 points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter and now seems like an established part of the rotation. “Kel’el has been playing really well,” Spoelstra said. “And he had a very good game tonight. … He’s making progress. It seems to be every day that he’s learning something new.”
- Josh Richardson has returned to Miami to have an MRI on his heel and will miss the final game of the road trip Wednesday against the Lakers, the Heat announced (via Twitter). Richardson hasn’t appeared in a game since November 18.
Pete Nance Returns To Sixers On Two-Way Contract
After waiving Pete Nance last week, the Sixers announced (via Twitter) that they have re-signed him to a two-way contract.
The 24-year-old power forward originally joined the team on a two-way deal on December 3. Philadelphia saved a little bit of money by parting with Nance for a week, but his new contract – which doesn’t count against the cap – will be guaranteed for the rest of the season.
Nance appeared in one game with the Sixers, playing three minutes December 30 at Portland. He also saw action in 14 G League contests with the Cleveland Charge and Delaware Blue Coats, averaging 16.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocked shots while shooting 50% from the field.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Sims, Robinson, First-Half Review
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns suffered an injury to the thumb on his shooting hand during Monday’s loss to Detroit, but he didn’t provide much information about it after the game, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Towns kept his hand in his pocket during a post-game session with reporters and responded, “It is what it is,” four times during the interview.
Towns hit his hand on the backboard during the first half and it appeared to bother him for the rest of the game, Bondy observes. A couple of his subsequent shots misfired badly, but he still played 43 minutes and finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds
His hand was struck again late in the third quarter and he grabbed it in pain as he ran into the crowd, according to Bondy. Towns refused to reveal whether X-rays had been taken, and coach Tom Thibodeau only said, “I haven’t talked to medical yet,” when asked about the injury.
“They hit shots when they had to,” Towns said in explaining the loss. “We could sit here and talk about all the things we could’ve done. We just didn’t do it. Cost us in the end.”
There’s more from New York:
- The Knicks are exploring Jericho Sims‘ value on the trade market, sources tell Bondy in a separate story. The backup big man was recently replaced in the rotation by Ariel Hukporti, and he missed Monday’s game due to back spasms. One of Bondy’s sources said there’s some interest around the league in Sims, and the Knicks are seeking a second-round pick in return. That would be a markdown from the offseason, when the team was reportedly asking for two second-rounders. Sims will be a free agent this summer.
- Sims’ availability coincides with the impending return of Mitchell Robinson, who is still recovering from offseason ankle surgery, Bondy adds. Thibodeau said Robinson is expected to begin practicing at some point this month, but he still hasn’t been cleared for sprinting. “That’s the next step,” Thibodeau told reporters. “He’s doing some light shooting right now.”
- Towns has opened up the offense since arriving in an October trade with Minnesota, James L. Edwards of The Athletic states in a review of the first half of the season. The Knicks are 26-15 through their first 41 games, good for third place in the East, as Edwards notes that the shooting efficiency has been much better and they’ve been able to avoid serious injuries. On the downside, there have been too many defensive breakdowns, the bench isn’t producing enough to earn Thibodeau’s trust, and the team only ranks 24th in three-point attempts per game.
Southwest Notes: Sheppard, Zion, JJJ, Morant
A three-game stint in the G League helped rebuild the confidence of Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard, writes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. The No. 3 pick in last year’s draft has struggled with his shot, connecting at 32.2% from the field and 27.9% from three-point range. As a result, his playing time has dropped sharply, with just two brief appearances since December 26.
Coach Ime Udoka explained that Sheppard was assigned to Rio Grande Valley to give him a chance to run an offense and learn how to be more aggressive in creating shots for himself.
“I would say reps are hard to come by in short-minute stints,” Udoka said. “You’re not going to get those looks and what you’re used to getting your whole life, obviously, in high school and Kentucky, not getting the same amount of minutes or reps. And so you can’t live or die on making one or two shots a game. And so for us, when we went with the more veteran lineup, we decided to get him some live action. … But more so than confidence of missing shots, was taking the shots and he passed up some and we wanted to get this aggressive mindset back.”
The move had an immediate impact as Sheppard exploded for 49 points on 34 shots in his first G League game. He averaged 35.5 minutes, 30.7 points, 8.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds on 46.3% shooting during his time with the Vipers before being recalled Sunday to practice with the Rockets. The G League club doesn’t play again until Friday, and it hasn’t been determined if Sheppard will return there.
“I think I learned a lot,” he said. “I think the biggest thing was just getting my confidence back, going down and being able to get up and down the court. Kind of play free, play loose, really, just play the game of basketball and enjoy it. You know, the NBA is different. There’s a lot of great players, so being able to go down and get some reps and just get the confidence back up and stuff, it was a lot of fun this week.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Pelicans‘ one-point loss Sunday at Boston shows what the roster might be capable of doing when it’s fully healthy, notes Rod Walker of NOLA. Zion Williamson was impressive on both ends of the court, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals. “The five steals jump out at you right away,” coach Willie Green said. “That means his activity was pretty high. He ignited our break, our transition opportunities when he was getting steals. His rebounding was really good. It’s good to have him on the floor. When he’s on the floor, we are a better team.”
- Scotty Pippen Jr. is pushing for teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. to earn a spot on the All-Star team, per Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda. Jackson has helped the Grizzlies overcome numerous injuries and remain among the top three teams in the West. “I feel like Jaren’s one of the most unstoppable players in the league,” Pippen said. “So, credit to him. He’s been working, you know, really hard, so he’s been doing well.”
- In their latest injury report, the Grizzlies are listing Ja Morant as questionable for tonight’s game at Houston due to an illness (Twitter link).
- In case you missed it on Sunday, there’s been “nothing substantive” between the Grizzlies and Nets regarding a trade involving Cameron Johnson, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: DeRozan, Christie, Green, Clippers
DeMar DeRozan had a typical fourth quarter performance Sunday night in Chicago, but this time he beat the Bulls instead of helping them win, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Playing at the United Center for the first time since being traded to the Kings in July, he scored nine of his 21 points in the final 12 minutes as Sacramento pulled out a five-point victory.
DeRozan punctuated his final three made shots with a stare and a few comments directed at the Bulls’ bench, but he said there are no hard feelings and he enjoyed the three years he spent with the team.
“The first moment I came here, I tried to give my all to this organization, to this city. And I think it showed,” he said. “You can’t fake it when you’re genuinely putting everything into representing the Bulls. I embodied the culture of Chicago, everything. I think when people see that, you get the genuine reaction in return.”
DeRozan received a warm reception from the Chicago crowd, which cheered him in pre-game introductions and again when a tribute video was played during a first quarter time out. After the game, Bulls players spoke about the difference DeRozan made for the franchise.
“A guy like that always leaves a big impact, more so for the kind of guy he is, how he carries himself,” Nikola Vucevic said. “You always respect people like that. It was great for everyone to have him here for all these years, but especially for the young guys, they were able to learn a lot from him about the game, how to carry yourself on and off the court, what to do and how to prepare, the mental aspect, a lot of things that we can all learn from him and carry on throughout the rest of our careers.”
There’s m0re from the Pacific Division:
- The Kings picked up their seventh straight win on Sunday as they continue to benefit from the simplified offense Doug Christie installed when he replaced Mike Brown as head coach, observes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento had just seven turnovers and allowed three points off of them. “(Christie is) calling basically three or four plays,” Domantas Sabonis explained. “One for DeMar, one for Foxy (De’Aaron Fox) and one for me. He’s trusting his main guys to create the advantage and then everyone plays off that.”
- The counseling that Draymond Green received during last season’s indefinite suspension has helped him learn how to control his anger, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Green also confirms that he contemplated retirement last season, but that’s no longer in his plans. “He’s always been so passionate,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “And when he goes wrong and his passion gets away from him, it turns into anger. … He’s in a good place family-wise; he’s a great dad. He loves his kids. He recognized last year how much his actions impacted his young kids. He doesn’t want his kids seeing him in that light. And it’s easy for everybody on the outside to say, well then don’t do that stuff. But he is a force of nature and as competitive as any person I’ve ever seen. His game lives on the edge of passion and rage, and he has to find that balance. And he’s found it this year.”
- The Clippers have to put aside a major distraction to concentrate on tonight’s game with Miami, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Many of the players and coaches were directly affected by the massive wildfires that hit Los Angeles and the surrounding area last week. “At the end, we’re pros,” Nicolas Batum said Sunday. “We have a game to play. We have to win so we have to get back to it. We had two great practices the last two days. Basketball-side, we lost four of the last five so we need a win tomorrow. We got a stretch at home that we need to take care of so it’s going to be a big one against Miami tomorrow so we got to focus on that and try to win the game.”