It only took one game for Tiago Splitter to do what Billy Donovan wouldn't during his six years as head coach of the Chicago Bulls: Bench Patrick Williams. Not just bench him; Donovan held him out of some games. But like, really bench him.
Williams was a DNP-CD (did not play, coach's decision) in Chicago's first game of the 2026-27 campaign, a 43-point blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls dressed 14 players for the game. Williams was the only one who didn't see the floor.
On a night when his team trailed by 20 points after the first quarter and by 32 entering the final 12 minutes, Williams didn't play. Not even in mop-up duty when Splitter emptied the bench. Or almost emptied it, anyway.
The fact that the team's new head coach kept its former top-five pick glued to his seat proves just how much things are changing in the Windy City, even if the results looked uncomfortably familiar.
Patrick Williams was a DNP-CD in the Bulls' season-opener
Things quickly spiraled out of control for Chicago on Wednesday night. Splitter called a timeout with his team down 7-0 just 1 minute and 15 seconds in, but it clearly didn't help. The night was effectively over five minutes later when the Raptors took an 11-point lead on an Immanuel Quickley 3-pointer.
Still, Williams never entered the game.
Thirteen different players saw the floor. Caleb Wilson and Leonard Miller were the only Bulls who exceeded 25 minutes. Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey each played 24, though neither of them was anything more than disappointing.
Undrafted rookies Tobe Awaka and Jaylin Sellers played 14 minutes. (Awaka was one of Chicago's bright spots.) Noa Essengue played more than nine minutes and didn't attempt a shot. Neither did Zach Collins in his 8:38.
Still, Williams never entered the game.
As sad as it may sound, that's progress.
Williams may be officially finished in Chicago. Finally.
Somehow, the former Florida State star is still only 25 years old. He was the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the first under the now-defunct front office led by Arturas Karnisovas. He had every physical gift a team could want in a modern wing. And he was given every inch of leeway under Donovan.
But after six years of injuries and frustration, the new regime under Bryson Graham and Splitter seems, at last, ready to officially move on.
The majority of Bulls fans have to be thrilled.
Karnisovas refused to use the word "rebuild" at any point during his six-season run in Chicago. Graham had no problem using it at his very first press conference.
These are the new Bulls, and as painful as the process will likely be, Splitter's refusal to play Williams is proof that things are moving in the right direction.
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