On a really interesting trade deadline day around the NBA landscape, the Chicago Bulls wound up staying quiet without making any moves. That included not giving up the likes of second-year forward Patrick Williams, third-year point guard Coby White, forward Derrick Jones Jr., etc. There were moves on the table for the Bulls, but standing pat didn’t look to be a bad move at the end of this day.
One of the driving factors to the Bulls staying quiet at the trade deadline this year appeared to be all the injuries this team suffered so far this season. That included what appeared to originally be a regular-season ending injury to the former Florida State Seminoles Sixth Man of the Year and All-Rookie Team selection Williams.
Following the end of deadline day (Feb. 10) for the Bulls, one of the major looming question marks surrounded any updates to injury timelines to key players on this team. That included the situation with Williams’ injury timeline.
There is more smoke coming around the discussion that Williams could return before the end of the regular season for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls of late. It’s hard to tell when exactly he could return for the Bulls at this point, but it’s still good to hear he’s making progress.
Chicago Bulls looking to get Patrick Williams back from injury before the end of the regular season
Arturas Karnisovas on Patrick Williams: “At some point you’re going to see him this year.” But no precise timeline yet
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) February 10, 2022
That seemed to be the sentiment following the end of deadline day for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley for this Bulls team. The hope that Williams will be back before the end of the regular season echoed throughout the press conferences to cap deadline day.
The fact that Williams could return this season likely impacted the lack of moves made by Karnisovas and Eversley on Feb. 10. The two-way impact that he can make for the Bulls in the starting unit at the four is hard to match by many others around the NBA. He’s a nice fit in the rotation that Karnisovas and Eversley built out for the Bulls.
Following a win over the Charlotte Hornets on the night of Feb. 9, the Bulls are sporting a record of 34-21. Next up for Donovan and the Bulls is a meeting with the improving Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 11.