Billy Donovan Just Made A Huge Move With Patrick Williams

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has received much scrutiny for his lack of player development during his tenure with the franchise. This began mainly with fourth-overall draft selection Patrick Williams not performing up to expectations from the beginning, all the way through the failure to find Matas Buzelis more minutes during an otherwise wasted season for the organization. On pace to miss the postseason for a third consecutive year, the Bulls have hinted at the notion of a complete fire sale at the looming trade deadline. If this were the case, Donovan would have no choice but to deploy his youngest and most unproven talents while plummeting in the standings even more than they currently are. Williams was added to the list of available players in Chicago's trade market a few weeks ago, which appeared to rattle the fifth year further. After some of his most abysmal outings in the league over the past week, Donovan finally decided to take a gamble with the 23-year-old, and it might have convinced the front office to remove his designation on the chopping block.

Patrick Williams Benched

Williams came off the bench on Monday night to the delight of much of the Bulls' fanbase. This was long overdue and needed experimenting with several years ago, especially considering the former Florida State forward had a reserve role in college and has expressed interest in returning to that assignment at the professional level. Whether it was Arturas Karnisovas pushing for him to continue appearing in the starting five or Donovan genuinely believing that was his best placement, it was time for a change. According to his brother, who spoke on this topic a few years ago, they should have tried it long ago.

We interviewed Patrick Williams’ brother Ed a couple of years ago on @BullNothin

Here’s some insight on why Patrick Williams might be better off the bench from his brother Ed, including what Pat’s college coach had to say

full episode: https://t.co/Uk4WUguSRm@YoungJordan https://t.co/K4QJ8uS8Yp pic.twitter.com/i671sxVF9p

— melissa.francesca 💫 (@MsMeliss) January 28, 2025

In his first action off the pine, Williams recorded his first game with at least 12 shot attempts while shooting 40% or better from the field in over a calendar year, dating back to January 22nd, 2024. He added the second most rebounds he's had all season, eight, his most in a game since November. This was also his first game of over 26 minutes with zero turnovers or fouls since December 26th, 15 games ago. Safe to say, this was a perfect start to his bench role.

Potentially Saves His Spot In Chicago

What has become a specialty of Karnisovas and the current regime is attaching significant importance to minimal sample size. One outstanding performance, which still wasn't too profound when considering that he was a former top-five draft pick and his fellow draft class members have earned All-Star nods or won playoff games, will change their minds indefinitely. If history is any indication, the front office now believes this is a perfect fit for Williams and will both hike up his trade market price and lean toward making him untouchable in potential swaps. If realism prevails, one game, or stretch of games over the next week, does not outweigh four and a half seasons of lackluster, underwhelming performances with zero signs of growth toward contributing to winning basketball games.

The Chicago Bulls might have made serious headway towards the youth movement tonight.

Billy Donovan moved Patrick Williams to the bench. Ayo and Lonzo started. Matas Buzelis was the sixth man. And Pat played MUCH better in his reserve role.

In a result that is somewhat…

— Philip Charles VanDerHeyden IV (@PhilVanderIV) January 28, 2025

Even though the move was made later than most would have wanted to see, Buzelis is seeing more playing time, Williams is coming off the bench, and the young Chicago Bulls are being granted opportunities to flourish. Is Donovan turning the page on the aging veterans and letting the fans see the young talent as requested? Fresh off a win over the Denver Nuggets, the latest rotations may have struck a cord.