3 Bulls players who tanked their trade value in 2023
Cap-strapped and left with none of the rights to their own draft picks this offseason, trades are going to be one of the clearest and most direct avenues to improvement for the Chicago Bulls this summer. While the ‘Big 3’ enjoyed an exemplary season on the court and remained relatively healthy, not everyone on this roster fared so well.
As a result, other teams aren’t likely to value every Bulls player as highly as us fans and the Bulls organization itself might. That doesn’t mean it’ll be impossible for the front office to execute meaningful moves this summer, but it does present yet another obstacle for this team to overcome. Based on the performance of each individual player this season, I believe it may be a bit easier to narrow things down and focus in on who is most likely to be moved over the offseason.
Although the story is far from over for each of these players, I believe these three Bulls had their trade values most negatively affected by a lackluster 2022-23 campaign.
Considering the Bulls fell drastically short of their expectations as a team this season, it’s no surprise that several players had their stock fall off.
3. Patrick Williams
Make no mistake, Patrick Williams is certainly still a good player in the right role, particularly as a 3-and-D asset. Arguably the second-best defender on this team and hitting 41.5% of his threes this season, there’s always going to be a place for Pat in this league if he can keep this up. But when it comes to reaching that Kawhi Leonard-esque star potential many had envisioned for Williams, the third-year forward is falling short.
Young age and a perceived high ceiling have been Williams’ most virtuous traits as a prospect in his relatively short career, but with each passing year with little to no improvement, Pat’s shine as an interesting trade asset grows duller and duller. A lack of visible year-to-year development and improvement has many Bulls and general NBA fans much lower on Pat as a prospect than they were just one year ago.
Just a year ago, many were hesitant to entertain a straight-up swap of Williams for Jerami Grant. Whether or not Pat could still fetch a player of Grant’s caliber is hard to say for sure, but I’m dubious of any claims that it would be an easy deal to get done at this point. Williams will need to show out next season in the final year of his rookie deal if he wants to get paid like the player we’re all hoping he can become.