Patrick Williams works on big weakness in new Bulls workout footage

Entering the offseason, it was always going to be difficult for the Chicago Bulls to make any significant improvements via the draft or free agency. While I think they’ve done the best they can with their limited resources this summer, the easiest route to improving as a team is still through the internal development of Chicago’s young core.

All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan has done the best he can to mentor the Bulls’ young talent, including forcing them to partake in his notoriously brutal summer workout regimen. There’s only so far DeRozan can take them, however, because at a certain point, they’ll have to earn their stripes on their own.

Fortunately, arguably Chicago’s most vital building block in Patrick Williams has been back in the lab and putting in the work to take the next leap. Among the biggest criticisms about his game has been his unwillingness to put the ball on the floor and create his own offense, so it’s reassuring to see him doing just that in a clip posted on Instagram.

Patrick Williams is looking like a much improved and more well-rounded player in the latest Bulls workout footage.

Last year we saw a great many weaknesses in Pat’s game that will hold him back if he truly wants to reach his Kawhi-esque All-Star ceiling. He’s looked very unconfident on the court, particularly when it comes to his ball-handling and ability to drive past defenders. Despite being an incredibly efficient player, his volume simply isn’t at the level where it needs to be if Williams wants to leave his footprint on the game.

That’s why this tape is so reassuring. Not only is he steadily working on his biggest issues, Pat actually seems to have a very tight handle and crisp touch on his shot in these clips. Of course, these types of videos almost always cherry-pick the best highlights to impress audiences, but at the very least we do know Williams is capable of being that guy in some capacity.

Working out and training alongside DeMar — a player who specializes in these particular areas of the game — has undoubtedly helped Pat with this growth. But workout footage isn’t enough, he’ll need to prove he can do this in real games, at full speed, against NBA-level competition. Not exactly an easy task.

But if Williams can manage to work the kinks out and remain somewhere near the realm of his career mark of 41.4% shooting from deep while also assuming a higher workload, the sky is the limit. A more versatile and offensively engaged Pat will help the Bulls shore up their weakest position on the court, and help the team return as a much more dangerous threat to the Eastern Conference next year.