Patrick Williams Rumors

Bulls Notes: Front Office, Rose, Buzelis, Williams

August 30th, 2025 at 2:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Bulls have been mired in mediocrity for the past three seasons, finishing with middling records a shade below .500 and failing to advance out of the play-in tournament each year.

With that in mind, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (subscriber link) takes stock of whether or not Chicago has an actionable strategy for lifting the club out of its plight long-term. Cowley calls out president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley for having “no real plan” for bringing in an All-Star-caliber player this summer, either through free agency or a trade.

There’s more out of the Windy City:

On January 24 this season, the Bulls will retire the No. 1 jersey of former 2011 MVP guard Derrick Rose, who called it a career last summer. Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic asserts that Rose is worthy of such an honor despite only spending eight seasons — including two years almost entirely lost due to injury from 2012-14 — in Chicago. Lorenzi observes that Rose, a Chicago native and former MVP, will be just the fifth Bulls player to have his jersey retired, along with Michael Jordan‘s No. 23, Scottie Pippen‘s No. 33, Jerry Sloan‘s No. 4, and Bob Love‘s No. 10.
In lieu of landing an established star, the Bulls are counting on 2025 All-Rookie Second Team forward Matas Buzelis to emerge as their star of the future, Lorenzi observes in the same story.
Just a year after being signed to a five-year, $90MM deal, Bulls forward Patrick Williams finds himself in a tenuous standing with Chicago, Lorenzi writes as he considers what the next step is for the Bulls and the former No. 4 overall pick. The club’s lone trade this summer, for another defense-first young forward in Isaac Okoro, could make Williams somewhat expendable if he doesn’t take a step forward this fall.

Bulls Notes: Okoro, Dosunmu, Essengue, Ball

June 28th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaac Okoro, who will be acquired from Cleveland in a trade for Lonzo Ball, is the type of player Bulls general manager Marc Eversley said he’s looking to build the team around during a meeting with reporters earlier this week, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Okoro had mixed results during his five seasons with the Cavaliers, but he’s a strong wing defender who can play multiple positions.

Discussing how the Pacers were able to reach the NBA Finals, Eversley said, “What I take away from Indiana is their style of play. They continue to come at you over and over. They play fast in spite of the score or what quarter it is. That’s kind of how we played this year. They’ve got a bunch of players that can play on both sides of the floor, and that’s exactly what we want to build here in Chicago, players who are versatile. You can’t [defensively] hunt any of their players. Everybody can defend, run and make a shot.”

The Bulls have been criticized for not getting a draft pick in the deal, but Cowley points out that Okoro’s contract isn’t burdensome enough to ask for a sweetener. He’ll make $11MM and $11.8MM over the next two seasons before becoming a free agent in 2027.

Cowley notes that adding Okoro will allow the Bulls to continue trying to unload Patrick Williams, and it will take some pressure off 18-year-old Noa Essengue, the team’s first-round pick, to contribute right away.

There’s more from Chicago:

The Bulls remain active in trade talks after today’s deal, tweets K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network, who hears that Ayo Dosunmu is being discussed more than Coby White.
In a Chicago Sports Network interview (Twitter video link), Eversley discusses the decision to draft Essengue at No. 12, saying he was the “best player available, and he fits the style of play that we want to play.”
Injuries changed the course of Ball’s four years with the Bulls, states Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. Ball and the team got off to a strong start after he was acquired in a 2021 trade with New Orleans, but everything changed when he hurt his knee in January of 2022. It appeared to be a routine injury at the time, but Ball missed more than two full seasons before finally making it back in October. He talked about the long recovery process and the thrill of getting back on the court at this year’s exit interview, Poe adds. “I got to a point where I was starting, which I didn’t think was going to happen,” Ball said. “I got to a point where I was playing 30 minutes multiple games in a row, which I didn’t think was going to happen this year. So I went above certain goals that I set for myself, and that’s very positive for me moving forward.”

Trade Rumors: Giannis, K. Murray, Ellis, P. Williams, Heat

June 24th, 2025 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t requested a trade and the Bucks are reportedly focused on improving their roster around him, but teams around the NBA continue to monitor the situation, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who said on First Take (YouTube link) that potential Antetokounmpo suitors are hoping he won’t be thrilled by the moves Milwaukee makes in the coming days and weeks.

“The Bucks have seven free agents. Seven. Three or four of which I would refer to as core players,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “The Bucks do not have salary cap space. The Bucks do not control their first-round draft pick for the next five years. They can’t trade it — they can’t trade the pick or the swap. The Bucks are in situation where they cannot count on Dame Lillard for next year. Maybe he can come back, but they cannot count on it. The Bucks are not interested right now in trading Giannis Antetokounmpo. And Giannis, to our knowledge, to my belief, has not asked for a trade. Those are the facts.

“We are also before the draft. We are before free agency. Will the Bucks do some things over the next two, three weeks to put themselves in a position where they can look like they could win the Eastern Conference, with those limitations? Maybe.”

Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith interjected at that point to say that the Bucks’ odds of reemerging as an Eastern Conference favorite seem “highly unlikely.”

“Right, so that’s why the league is waiting,” Windhorst continued. “People want to know why aren’t the Knicks going all-in for Kevin Durant? Why aren’t the Heat going all-in for Kevin Durant? Because, in part – there’s other reasons, but in part -they want to see what happens here with the Bucks. And we’re going to be watching closely.”

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Checking in on the Kings‘ roster situation and potential trade candidates ahead of the draft, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports that the team wants to add “length and athleticism” in its frontcourt and is hoping to add a power forward/center in order to slide Keegan Murray back to small forward. According to Anderson, Murray and Keon Ellis have been generating “strong” trade interest, but Sacramento isn’t enthusiastic about moving either player.
The Bulls‘ front office has been “more responsive” to trade conversations this offseason than in the past, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley suggests that forward Patrick Williams is viewed as a prime candidate for Chicago, though the former No. 4 overall pick – who hasn’t taken a major step forward in recent years – still has four seasons and $72MM left on his current contract, which will make it difficult to move him for positive value without a sweetener attached.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania provided a little more information on what the Heat would’ve have had to give up to get Durant from the Suns, supplementing prior reporting from The Miami Herald. In order to keep Kel’el Ware out of a Durant deal, Miami likely would have had to put Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, the No. 20 overall pick, and a pick swap in its package, according to Charania. The Heat’s final offer reportedly fell well short of that.

Central Notes: Allen, Okoro, Ball, Budenholzer, Williams

April 3rd, 2025 at 10:47am CST by Dana Gauruder

With the playoffs approaching, Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro are playing at a peak level for the Cavaliers. Allen is shooting 77.8 percent from the field over the last six games, while Okoro has impacted recent games with his hustle plays and defense, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes.

Allen, who has appeared in every game this season, missed most of last season’s playoff run due to broken ribs.

“I feel like every year I’ve had something happen in the playoffs to me whether it’s hurt or, yeah, it’s always getting hurt,” Allen said. “I’m just ready to showcase what I have to offer.”

We have more from the Central Division:

Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is still dealing with pain in his sprained right wrist but there are no plans to shut him down, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune writes. Ball missed the team’s six-game road trip and still hasn’t been cleared to play. He’ll have to deal with the injury the rest of the season but the team doesn’t anticipate that it will require surgery.
Former Bucks coach and current Phoenix coach Mike Budenholzer admitted his return to Milwaukee was an emotional one. The Suns lost 133-123 on Tuesday. “I’ve always said it was a great five years here in Milwaukee,” Budenholzer said, per The Associated Press’ Steve Megargee. “I’m forever appreciative to the organization, to the players, to the fans here. The people here were great to me. It’s tough to lose tonight. I want to keep the focus on my guys, my team. But I’ve said it a million times: It was five great years here.” Milwaukee snapped a four-game losing streak by shooting a franchise-record 68.9% (51-of-74) from the floor. “I kept saying to my teammates, ‘We’re fighting for our lives. We’re fighting for our lives,’” Giannis Antetokounmpo said, per Megargee. “They think I’m joking, but I’m not joking. We’re fighting for our lives right here. Every win counts.”
Patrick Williams hasn’t played up to the contract he signed last summer, but the Bulls forward said this season hasn’t been all gloom and doom, he told The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. ‘‘When we’re winning, I’m having fun, regardless of how I’m playing,’’ Williams said. ‘‘I come from a culture, obviously, at [Florida State] where winning was the top priority. When you win, everybody gets taken care of. You hold the trophy up, everybody gets to hold it up. But, for sure, as one of the young staples of this group, there’s a lot that comes with that off the court, being professional that way, but also on the court, holding yourself to that standard. The team holds me to that standard; I hold myself to that standard. And when I’m not playing at that standard, you shouldn’t be happy.”

Kings/Bulls Notes: DeRozan, White, LaVine, Huerter, T. Jones

March 21st, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward DeMar DeRozan became the 27th player in NBA history to record 25,000 career points on Thursday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. As Law Murray of The Athletic notes, DeRozan joins LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry as active players who have scored at least 25,000 points.

However, the impressive milestone was bittersweet for DeRozan and the Kings, who lost to his former club, the Bulls.

While DeRozan exchanged in some lighthearted trash-talking with his former teammates leading up to the game, he made it clear afterward that he still supports them, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. DeRozan particularly singled out Coby White, who scored a game-high 35 points in Chicago’s victory.

“Rooting for all those guys, honestly,” DeRozan said. “I watch every single game when we don’t play. Even if we’re playing at the same time, I check the box score and see how guys do. Obviously, I still talk to my sons every day, make sure they’re making their bed and everything. It was great to see Coby thriving the way I knew he would be. You know, working out with him every summer, seeing how much he loved the game, how much he put into it, it was dope to see.

“In the group chat [Wednesday] night, I was talking trash to [Patrick Williams] and [Dalen Terry] about them having nightmares just thinking about guarding me. So it’s fun, and it’s a different type of excitement you have going against familiar faces.”

Here’s more on the Kings and Bulls:

Thursday marked Zach LaVine‘s first game against Chicago since he was traded to the Kings last month. In the lead-up to the game, LaVine reflected on his time with the Bulls, saying he had “no bad blood” and a “really good tenure” during his nearly eight years with the team, according to Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “I put that jersey on with a lot of pride,” LaVine said. “I love Chicago. Always will. If you go out there and try your best and it don’t work, sometimes it’s frustrating, both on the organization and as a player. But I wore it with my heart on my sleeve. I can’t get mad at that.”
While LaVine wasn’t out for revenge, the same can’t be said for Kevin Huerter, who was traded by the Kings to the Bulls in the LaVine deal. The 26-year-old had one of his best games of the season against Sacramento, putting up 25 points (on 10-of-16 shooting), seven assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block in 37 minutes. “We’re competitors at the end of the day,” Huerter said Wednesday, per Cowley. “Any game we go into, we’re trying to win. I know those guys over there [in Sacramento] really well. Any time you get moved on from a team, I think it’s natural that you want to kick their ass next time you play them, but there’s no ill will, no hard feelings. [I’m] still pretty close with a lot of people there, so [I’ll] go try and compete.”
Bulls point guard Tre Jones sustained a left midfoot sprain during Thursday’s game, tweets K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network. X-rays were negative, Johnson adds, and it’s unclear if Jones will miss time due to the injury. The impending free agent has played well for Chicago since he was acquired from San Antonio in the LaVine deal, particularly over the past couple weeks.

Central Notes: Fontecchio, Toppin, Buzelis, Williams

March 18th, 2025 at 7:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Simone Fontecchio was re-signed by the Pistons on a two-year, $16MM contract last summer. The forward’s shooting numbers are down this season but coach J.B. Bickerstaff has stuck with him on the second unit. Fontecchio delivered his best performance of the season in Detroit’s 46-point thumping of New Orleans on Monday, with 23 points and seven rebounds.

“We trust these guys and we don’t live game by game, we give guys an opportunity to build a track record,” Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “We give guys an opportunity to play with freedom and confidence. And we know Simo’s capable of knocking down shots. It never wavered from our end. We know we’re going to need all of them and I thought (Monday) was a great night for him, to go 9-of-10 from the field and 5-of-5 from three. It was great to see it.”

Fontecchio is appreciative that Bickerstaff has continued to rely on him.

“It’s important,” Fontecchio said. “They know I can shoot it in many ways, being a team player and locker room player, grabbing rebounds, playing defense and making the right play on offense.”

We have more from the Central Division:

The Pacers got a monster game out of Obi Toppin on Monday. He scored 34 points and hit four overtime three-pointers in their victory over Minnesota. Toppin was signed to a four-year, $58MM contract last offseason to remain in an Indiana uniform. It was strong all-around effort from the Pacers unheralded players, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. The team was missing four of its top five scorers and had to use a handful of players on two-way and 10-day deals, but still had eight players score in double figures.
Matas Buzelis made his 17th straight start for the Bulls in their 111-97 road win over the Jazz on Monday, scoring 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He also had nine rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 30 minutes. The rookie forward is averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26.4 minutes per game as a starter. “With Matas, I think he’s got huge upside. I felt like Lauri (Markkanen) had huge upside even though he’s gone to Cleveland and he’s come (to Utah), but I think he’s constantly, each year, taken a step,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan told Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “I think Matas can do the exact same thing. I’m not saying they’re the exact same players, but I think he can make those kinds of steps.”
The Bulls’ decision to hand power forward Patrick Williams a five-year, $90MM contract last summer doesn’t look like a wise investment at the moment. Williams is averaging a career-low 8.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 49 games, including 35 starts. There is one aspect of his game where he could show some progress the remainder of this season — his decision-making — before entering the offseason with a plan for how live up to that contract, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. “I think he’s a guy who, early in his career — and it’s still early in his career — had a hard time getting over mistakes,” Donovan said. “I think he’s gotten past that and he’s been better with that. The other part is the decision-making part of it. There’s times he’s got to get off [the ball]. There’s times he’s got to shoot. There’s times he’s got to drive it.”

Bulls Notes: Williams, White, Buzelis, Phillips, Play-In

March 7th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls forward Patrick Williams has missed the past two weeks with a right knee injury, but he appears to be nearing a return. According to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, the plan is for Williams to practice today in Miami, and, assuming things go well, he’ll suit up on Saturday against the Heat.

“After being out for a while, I just want to check all the boxes, so to speak,” Williams said Thursday. “A lot of injuries happen when guys are trying to rush back more than anything, so I’m just trying to be careful in that aspect.

“You guys know I’ve dealt with my fair share of injuries already, so I’m doing what I can to prevent what I can. The knee itself feels good; the quad tendon feels good. I want to get back knowing we’re in the homestretch of the regular season. I want to be able to be full-go swinging by the time we get to that play-in tournament.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

Guard Coby White erupted for a career-high 44 points in Thursday’s comeback victory in Orlando, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. White scored the team’s final nine points and recorded 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Centers Zach Collins and Jalen Smith fouled out in the fourth quarter yesterday, but recent draft picks Matas Buzelis and Julian Phillips stepped up late against a physical Orlando frontcourt, per Cowley. “Whatever it takes to get the win, honestly, and that’s what we had to do,” Buzelis said. “We had to be physical, dive on the floor, run in transition, and whatever we had to do. I’m proud of that, and I’m proud of Ju for sure.”
In another story for The Sun-Times, Cowley examines a few key questions facing the Bulls following the news of Ayo Dosunmu‘s season-ending shoulder surgery. Cowley believes Dosunmu’s injury could increase White’s trade value this offseason, perhaps making the team more likely to deal 2023/24’s runner-up for Most Improved Player.
In a column for The Chicago Tribune, Poe argues that another play-in berth for the Bulls feels all but inevitable. As Poe writes, Chicago has a 3.5-game lead on Brooklyn and Philadelphia and is 4.5 games up on Toronto for the final play-in spot with 19 games remaining on the team’s schedule. While things could certainly change, as all four teams have struggled lately, the Bulls’ reluctance to embrace a tanking season will likely come back to bite them when the draft lottery rolls around, Poe opines.

Bulls Notes: Collins, Buzelis, Giddey, Williams

February 28th, 2025 at 1:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Injuries left Zach Collins as the Bulls‘ only remaining option at center for the past two games, resulting in a lot of minutes for the newly acquired big man, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. With Nikola Vucevic out of action to “proactively” rest a calf injury and Jalen Smith in concussion protocol, Collins made two straight starts, logging 28 minutes in Monday’s contest and 38 on Wednesday.

“I’m tired,” joked Collins, who was only averaging 11.8 minutes off the bench in San Antonio before being traded earlier this month. “I guess I’m getting all the minutes I want.”

Poe notes that Collins has faced a challenging adjustment moving into coach Billy Donovan’s up-tempo approach, which has been necessary because of the team’s overall lack of size. Collins has played well enough since the deal that Donovan indicated he might use some double-big lineups when Vucevic and Smith are healthy. That could happen soon, as K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweeted that Smith participated in this morning’s shootaround.

Collins is also working to solidify his future with the Bulls, who are expected to try again this summer to trade Vucevic.

“You want to help put your team in a position to win,” Collins said. “Great individual games don’t really mean much if you can’t get the win.”

There’s more from Chicago:

Suns star Kevin Durant was impressed by rookie forward Matas Buzelis when the teams met last weekend, Poe adds in a separate story. Buzelis wasn’t intimidated in his matchup with an NBA legend, posting 15 points and three rebounds in 24 minutes. “I like Matas,” Durant said. “I liked him when he was with the G League Ignite. He’s long, athletic and can shoot it. He is definitely going to have some bumps and bruises as he gets through these first few years in the league trying to figure stuff out. The more experience, the more reps he gets on the floor as a starter, the better he’ll become.”
The Bulls shouldn’t be fooled by Josh Giddey‘s recent hot streak, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. Giddey is averaging 19.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals per game since the trade deadline while shooting 52.3% from the field and 62.5% from three-point range. However, Mayberry points out that Giddey, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is playing for his next contract. Mayberry urges the front office to let the process play out with Giddey and not repeat last year’s mistake with Patrick Williams, who was re-signed before he could negotiate with other teams.
In the same piece, Mayberry expresses skepticism that any team will be willing to trade for Williams, who has four years and $72MM left on his current deal.

Bulls’ Patrick Williams Out At Least Two Weeks With Knee Injury

February 20th, 2025 at 4:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Fifth-year forward Patrick Williams recently received a platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection to treat a right knee injury the Bulls describe as tendinosis. He’ll miss at least two weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated, per the team (Twitter link).

Williams was initially ruled out for Thursday’s game at New York with what the Bulls called right quadriceps tendon soreness. He banged knees with a Pistons player on February 12, but was able to go through practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link), Williams threw a towel in frustration during a timeout after experiencing the injury last week, but both he and head coach Billy Donovan downplayed the severity of the issue after the game. At the time, Williams said the knee-to-knee contact aggravated the sore tendon, but X-rays came back normal.

It’s been a tough season on an individual level for Williams, who is averaging career-worst rates on both two-pointers (40.0%) and threes (35.1%) for an overall field goal percentage of 37.5%. The 23-year-old, who was selected No. 4 overall in 2020, missed 10 games earlier this season, and will now miss at least eight more over the next couple of weeks.

With Williams out, Matas Buzelis, Kevin Huerter and Julian Phillips are among the candidates to receive more playing time.

Bulls Notes: Ball, Tanking, Roster Keepers, Williams

February 19th, 2025 at 6:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Loyalty factored into Lonzo Ball‘s decision to accept a two-year, $20MM extension from the Bulls, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The second year is a club option, and if the Bulls exercise it, Ball’s total salary for the next two seasons will be less than the $21.4MM he’s making this year. It’s his way of repaying the team for believing in him while he was sidelined with knee issues for two and a half seasons.

“Just the overall picture,” Ball explained. “The doctor being out here, so not having to deal with the rehab process like I have the last couple years, the relationship I have with the front office, the coaching staff, the young guys here, it all made sense for me to stay. That’s what I wanted ultimately, and we were able to come to an agreement.”

The announcement of the extension was somewhat of a surprise considering that Ball had been heavily involved in trade rumors leading up to the February 6 deadline. He was also headed toward free agency this summer, which could have resulted in a much larger payday, but he prefers the stability of staying in Chicago.

“I’m in trade talks every year so that’s not a new thing to me, but I expressed to my agent (Rich Paul) that I wanted to stay, and they wanted to have me,” Ball said. “They stayed with me for probably the toughest journey in my life so far, so I was just trying to get back, man, and be loyal to who was loyal to me. I was brought up like that my whole life. I’m really big on family and I feel like it’s family here.”

There’s more on the Bulls:

The front office may regret not fully embracing a tanking strategy at the deadline, Cowley states in a separate story. Chicago sent Zach LaVine to Sacramento, but held onto Ball and veteran center Nikola Vucevic, sending mixed signals about which direction the franchise is headed. Cowley advocates emulating the 9-45 Wizards, as well as the Rockets and Pistons, who were able to quickly rebuild after tanking in recent seasons. Beyond having a better shot at Cooper Flagg, the top prize in this year’s draft, Cowley points out that there will be three potential franchise players in the 2026 class.
In another Sun-Times piece, Cowley tries to determine which players from the current roster should return next season. His list includes Ball, restricted free agent Josh Giddey, rookie Matas Buzelis, Jalen Smith and either Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu.
Patrick Williams will miss Thursday’s game at New York with soreness in his right quadriceps tendon, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Williams banged knees with another player in the final game before the All-Star break, but the injury doesn’t appear serious as he was able practice without restrictions on Tuesday and Wednesday.