With the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery, the Chicago Bulls took a risky flier out on former Florida State forward Patrick Williams.
The pick is in for the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft; former Florida State Seminoles freshman forward and the reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year Patrick Williams. What is the surprise pick of the first round of the draft thus far, the Bulls went for a pick that was not on most mocks (and a prospect that wasn’t this high up on most draft boards) with the 6-foot-8 and 225 pound Charlotte, NC, native Williams.
Williams is a solid prospect, and is one of two former Florida State standouts that is likely to fall in the draft lottery. The other is the former highly touted blue chip recruit and sophomore shooting guard/wing Devin Vassell. But some would argue that the Bulls had a better fit with the current roster at hand by picking Vassell over Williams.
Moreover, Williams was not only the reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year award winner, he was also a member of the All-ACC Freshman-Team. To get those honors, Williams was solid for Florida State in 29 games played during his true freshman campaign (none of which he started in).
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.
What Williams brings to the table for the Bulls is a lengthy and athletic switchable forward that could realistically play at the three or the four. He’s likely to slot in the rotation somewhere behind either veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. or power forward Lauri Markkanen. The Bulls do have a lot of depth now at the forward positions.
Other notable forwards the Bulls have on the current roster, following the selection of Williams fourth overall, are the veteran Thaddeus Young, small forward Chandler Hutchison, and even the likes of Denzel Valentine and Adam Mokoka. They’ll have to figure out how to order the log jam that could be presented at the forward positions and/or in the frontcourt rotation.
Williams does need to improve his shooting ability from deep if the Bulls want him to play more of a stretch forward role. He’s a pretty good on-ball defender, but needs to improve off-ball at times. Williams has also been prone to excessive turnover problems at times (2.5 assists-to-4.4 turnovers per 100 possessions at Florida State).
There’s also room for progression for Williams in the rebounding department. His length and overall physical tools should allow for that to happen early in his NBA career.
The strengths for Williams includes his physicality, shot blocking from the three or the four, versatile defending one-on-one, and underrated facilitating with the ball in his hands. Williams can drive the lane and attack the basket consistently, which could add a new dynamic to the Bulls offense.
All in all, the problem with this pick in the eyes of most Bulls fans will be the quality of talent that was left elsewhere on the board. Just behind the Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected former Auburn small forward Isaac Okoro, and the Atlanta Hawks picked former USC power forward/center Onyeka Okongwu. Even the Detroit Pistons pick of the French point guard Killian Hayes had a prospect off the board that was usually held in a higher regard than Williams.
Chicago Bulls draft grade of Patrick Williams: C-
The fit with former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (who officially replaced the departed Jim Boylen back on Sep. 22) does look promising, which saves some of the face of this pick.
It’s difficult to give as high of a grade for this Bulls pick in the four slot as they got by selecting the former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White seventh overall last year. It could work out well for both parties in the end, but there were a lot of other good options still left on the board.