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Bulls admit massive offseason mistake, open to trading former cornerstone, per report

Is it finally time?
Andrew Hanlon
Andrew Hanlon

Pippen Ain't Easy

Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams of the Chicago Bulls look on during an NBA game against the Toronto Raptors. / Andrew Lahodynskyj/GettyImages

Chicago Bulls fans aren't strangers to watching their team make some colossal blunders. And they don't have to gaze very far into the past to see some of those roster-building miscalculations.

Zach LaVine's five-year, $215 million deal comes to mind. Trading for Nikola Vucevic and extending the then-33-year-old big man for three more seasons at an average of $20 million per is another.

It's no secret the Bulls have been trying to rid themselves of those contracts.

Only a month into the season, it's looking like trading a useful veteran like Alex Caruso (understandable during a "rebuild") straight up for Josh Giddey (not as understandable) is another miscue.

Chicago isn't ready to give up on that experiment yet. But the franchise may be admitting defeat on another questionable-at-best decision it made last offseason.

Bulls may be open to trading first-round bust, per report

Chicago handed former No. 4 overall pick Patrick Williams a five-year, $90 million extension last summer despite his underwhelming production for a lottery pick and growing injury history.

The organization may already be willing to try and correct that baffling move, per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

""I've absolutely heard that Chicago is going to be open-minded to moving a player such as Patrick Williams.""
Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer

Fischer mentioned Williams in the context of the Golden State Warriors looking to add more defense in the wake of De'Anthony Melton's season-ending injury and the possibility of Jonathan Kuminga's departure.

He added that Williams still has lottery-pick upside (does he?) and doesn't have an unmovable contract - perhaps a trade involving Melton's $12.8 million expiring deal, even if he never plays for the Bulls, makes sense.

Other contracts would need to be included to make that swap work - maybe Kevon Looney's expiring deal - but it could make sense for both sides, and Chicago simply getting Williams' money off the cap sheet would be a win.

Andrew Hanlon

Andrew Hanlon

Andrew is a Site Co-Expert for Pippen Ain't Easy. He earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and began covering high school sports in 2014. He's covered the NBA since 2021, and his work has been featured on FanSided, SB Nation, Yahoo! Sports, Sportscasting, and GiveMeSport. He’s been in his PAE role since 2024 and previously held the Site Expert position for Rip City Project (Portland Trail Blazers). When he's not writing about, talking about, or watching sports, he can be found playing and coaching them with his five kids.