Chicago Bulls: Surprise pick made at fourth overall in FSU F Patrick Williams
The former Florida State freshman forward and reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year Patrick Williams was the Chicago Bulls fourth pick in the 2020 draft.
The night of the 2020 NBA Draft has arrived on Nov. 18, and the Chicago Bulls had one of the most highly anticipated picks in the entirety of the lottery. The Bulls held the fourth overall pick in the 2020 draft lottery, and the original Memphis Grizzlies 44th overall pick in the second round. Newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley caught a nice stroke of luck getting the fourth overall pick in the lottery, coming into draft lottery night with the seventh best odds to get the top pick.
With the expected top three off the board ahead of the Bulls with the following picks (in order from top-to-bottom): Minnesota Timberwolves getting shooting guard Anthony Edwards, Golden State Warriors getting center James Wiseman, and Charlotte Hornets getting point guard LaMelo Ball, there wasn’t any given in the fourth slot. That left the Bulls with a plethora of options with what to do with the fourth pick in the draft lottery.
Any rumors that the Bulls were going to trade up in the lottery in place up the likes of the Timberwolves and Warriors didn’t pan out from the get go. The traction that was mentioned around the media landscape heading into draft night 2020 where the Bulls were going to take the former Florida State Seminoles forward Patrick Williams in the four slot wound up coming to fruition.
The Bulls didn’t make a trade fourth overall, at least as it stands now. They picked the reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year and the star Florida State true freshman forward Williams. Williams also received All-ACC Freshman-Team honors for his efforts with the Noles last season.
During his true freshman campaign at Florida State last season, Williams played in 29 games (none of which he started in). And he averaged 9.2 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks. Williams shot 45.9 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.8 percent from the free-throw line.
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Most would consider Williams a bit of a reach on draft night for the Bulls. They still had the likes of Maccabi Tel Aviv shooting guard/wing Deni Avdija, Iowa State point guard Tyrese Haliburton, and Dayton forward Obi Toppin, among other top tier prospects, left on the board in the fourth slot.