From former fourth-overall pick to rising star to a myriad of injuries to a $90 million contract to a bench role, Patrick Williams has seen it all across 268 games and nearly five seasons. The Florida State product came into the NBA with boundless potential but has yet to put it all together five years after he was drafted.
Williams came off the bench for a 19th consecutive contest against the Dallas Mavericks on March 30. He didn't score, going 0-of-3 from the field, turning it over three times, and recording a plus/minus of minus-19—the lowest on the team.
Williams' woeful performance comes two days after he played a heroic role in the Chicago Bulls' miraculous comeback against the Los Angeles Lakers. While Josh Giddey garnered much of the acclaim for his halfcourt heave to defeat the Lakers as time expired, and deservedly so, Chicago wouldn't have been in such a position if Williams didn't drill a corner three to put the Bulls up by two points with 10 seconds left.
The 6-foot-7 forward saw 29 minutes of action against Los Angeles. He scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists while converting 4-of-8 field goals and 2-of-4 three-pointers. It was a nice, bounce-back performance for Williams who had only scored 6 points on 3-of-9 shooting against the Denver Nuggets, three nights prior.
Before Chicago took on Denver, Williams scored 14 points (his most through March), adding three boards, and three assists, while draining 4-of-7 three-pointers against the Lakers on March 22. Perhaps most importantly, Williams was a plus-16 in only 23 minutes in the 146-115 win.
Patrick Williams' future is that of a role player's
Instead of going into depth for every Williams' performance throughout March, the main takeaway should be that the 23-year-old forward has proven wildly inconsistent, which, in turn, prompted Head Coach Billy Donovan to shift Williams to a bench role in late January. Despite signing a $90 million pact less than a year ago, Williams has seen a drastic decrease in minutes and appears poised for a full-time bench role moving forward.
The former fourth-overall pick is averaging career lows across the board this season—8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 38.1 percent from the floor, 34.3 percent from the three, and 71.8 percent from the free throw line are all career worsts. His season-long numbers aren't all too different from his career marks. Nevertheless, in a transition period, Donovan and the Bulls have favored 20-year-old rookie Matas Buzelis over Williams, and rightfully so.
Williams rarely makes headlines as the season winds down, a stark difference following the aftermath of the five-year extension he signed in the offseason, which bleed into the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign. Williams's incredibly slow start (7.4 points per game in October) and early season injury had fans and pundits around the league criticizing Williams' questionable extension to the ninth degree.
While Williams improved his play in November and December, he struggled in January. Consequently, Donovan moved Williams to the bench. Early returns were encouraging, Williams scored in double-digits in five straight games. However, inconsistency and injuries got the best of Williams. His scoring numbers came back to down earth, and he suffered a knee injury days later.
Williams missed nine contests before returning on March 10. In 10 games since making his comeback, he's averaged 7.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. The 6-foot-7 wing has shot only 42.2 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from deep. With a downtick in counting stats and an even lessened role, the under-the-radar forwards' future is becoming more apparent. He's a future role player, albeit, one that earns nearly $20 million per annum.