The Chicago Bulls have aspirations of getting back into the playoffs next year. And so far this summer, all the moves they’ve made have been with that goal in mind. Chicago has re-signed Nikola Vucevic and Coby White, as well as bringing in veteran point guard Jevon Carter.
However, the biggest eyebrow-raiser on the team could be someone already on the roster. Patrick Williams is still just 21 years old (22 by the start of next season) and has already played three NBA seasons. If he’s ready to take on a larger role, his improvement could be the missing piece for Chicago to take a massive step forward.
In a recent mailbag article, Sam Smith of NBA.com, a fan wrote in urging the Bulls to let Williams go full throttle, and Smith noted that Williams could be the “biggest mystery” heading into next year.
“I agree Williams may be the big mystery player for the upcoming season,” Smith wrote. “He becomes extension eligible and has stated he wants to play wing, so that suggests he may be ready to embrace that assertiveness everyone keeps calling for. And maybe enhance his rebounding. It’s been for me one of the biggest questions for the summer, both to find a point guard and shooting and either or not to make a commitment to Williams, which I believe management wants to do as they’ve supposedly had him the most hands off in any trade talks. So can he become that and find his space with that run it back thinking? It doesn’t seem so, which is why I still believe there could be change to come.”
Williams’ progression could be the key to the Bulls’ future.
