For a good while, Bulls rumors gave the indication that the front office in Chicago isn’t all too set on the idea of potentially parting ways with second-year former Florida State Seminoles forward Patrick Williams at the trade deadline next week. And that still seems to be the indication we’re getting from what we’re hearing from the front office roughly one week ahead of the deadline on Feb. 10.
Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley invested a lot to draft Williams fourth overall in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. Williams looked like he could live up to the hype with the two-way ability he put on display last season.
But before Williams could really get anything going during his sophomore campaign, his regular season was ended short due to a wrist injury he suffered in an October game against the New York Knicks. It does look like Williams could now return for the Bulls before the end of the regular season, but that is still obviously a very detrimental injury for him and this team.
Bulls rumors still promulgating the idea that the front office is “unwilling” to part ways with Patrick Williams
Now, the question remains whether the Bulls will actually hang on to Williams through the end of this season. The Bulls have a lack of valuable trade chips to work with this year at the deadline compared to last season. That means that Williams might have to be included in more trade talks if they really want to make a big splash deal at the deadline.
But a report from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report in a podcast on “Chad Ford’s NBA Big Board” this week indicated that the Bulls’ front office is essentially “unwilling” to trade Williams. That is unless it is for what sounds like the perfect deal in the Bulls’ eyes.
It’s hard to see that going for anyone but the Detroit Pistons star forward Jerami Grant in a deal that might even favor the Bulls. Or, there could be something else in the works for an even bigger trade target with Williams involved in the discussions, but that is purely speculation at this point.
At this moment, I find it harder and harder to believe that the Bulls will make a deal at the deadline involving Williams. It sounds like the front office values him too much to deal him out. We didn’t see the reports coming out from the Bulls’ organization in the last couple of years talking about any piece that the front office values as much as they do Williams.