Though the Chicago Bulls have generally moved on from an era most fans would prefer to leave behind, one expensive holdover remains: Patrick Williams. Chicago selected Williams at No. 4 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft and later signed him to a four-year, $80 million contract extension. Unfortunately, neither investment has panned out.
During a recent episode of The Hoop Collective, salt was thrown in the wound when it was revealed that Artūras Karnišovas prioritized Williams at the 2020 NBA Draft—but other members of the front office were pushing for Tyrese Haliburton.
Every team has picks they wish they could've used differently and Chicago is no different. Williams is a fairly unique case, however, as a player who was not only a lackluster pick, but an individual whose contract continues to limit the Bulls' flexibility. Karnišovas is to thank for that development—and, if true, for passing on Haliburton.
According to Tim MacMahon of The Hoop Collective, there were members of the Bulls' front office who wanted Tyrese Haliburton at No. 4 overall—but Karnišovas preferred Williams.
"There was people in the Bulls' front office at the time who were saying that Tyrese Haliburton was the guy. There was somebody in the Bulls' front office at the time who had Tyrese Haliburton as the No. 1 pick in the draft. Their bad general manager at the time, who somehow lasted in that job for many years, screwed that up. Screwed a bunch of things up."
Brian Windhorst added: "He made it in the job enough years to get Patrick Williams an $80 million extension." MacMahon quipped: "Another shot at the No. 4 pick."
Bulls execs wanted Haliburton, but Karnišovas wanted Patrick Williams
The Bulls passing on Haliburton hurts on multiple levels. For one, he's become a two-time All-NBA honoree and two-time All-Star who led the Association in assists in 2023-24 and guided the rival Indiana Pacers to the 2025 NBA Finals and 2024 Eastern Conference Finals.
For what it's worth: Chicago hasn't reached the NBA Finals since 1998, nor has it made it to the Conference Finals since 2011.
Furthermore, Williams has seen his minutes decline from the previous campaign during each of the past three seasons. That reached an all-time low in 2025-26, when he played just 20.5 minutes per game and shot below 40 percent from the field—the second time in as many seasons he achieved the latter lowlight.
To make matters worse, Williams still has three years and $54 million remaining on his contract—and it's hard to imagine anyone taking that type of financial burden back in a trade knowing the level he's been playing at.
The Lonzo Ball factor makes the Haliburton revelation even worse
Somehow, that isn't even the worst part of this revelation. That would be the Lonzo Ball factor. For those who may not remember: Just one year after passing on Haliburton, Chicago completed a sign-and-trade for Ball that brought him in on a four-year, $85 million contract.
Though Ball was excellent when healthy, he played just 70 games in four seasons with the Bulls—all while making more than $16 million more per season than Haliburton across those first three years.
Connecting the dots, it would certainly seem as though Karnišovas realized he made a mistake by not drafting Haliburton and thus targeted a point guard with a remarkably similar skill set in Ball. Both are tall point guards with elite court vision and playmaking instincts, and both can shoot the lights out—with Ball peaking at 42.3 percent from distance before his injuries.
Unfortunately, the Bulls' attempt to rectify passing on Haliburton by replacing him with a more expensive option backfired.
Ball missed two full seasons and played just 35 games apiece during the two others. Williams has failed to live up to his potential and is coming off of a season during which his minutes sharply declined—while his efficiency remained below the NBA standard.
Every team has draft picks it regrets, but prioritizing Williams over Haliburton is a haunting mistake that has completely transformed Chicago's trajectory.
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