Up until the draft begins one week from today the rumors are going to continue to come out. The most recent Bulls rumor surrounds Florida St. Forward Patrick Williams. In the most recent episode of The Mismatch, The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor had the following to say about the Bulls.
"We’ll see where he [LaMelo Ball] goes on draft night, but from everybody, I talk to, and I trust my sources, who knows where he is going to go. It could be one – maybe Minnesota makes a trade. It could be No. 4 to Chicago, we’ll see what happens, or maybe he slips past there because Chicago does also like Patrick Williams, they like Deni Avdija.”
This is a new name in the Bulls draft rumor bucket. The Bulls have been tied to a lot of different prospects but this is the first we are hearing of Patrick Williams. In case you are unfamiliar with Williams let me give you some of his stats. Let's start with his size, he's listed at 6'8" and 225 lbs. At Florida St. he rotated between the small forward & power forward position. In his one season with Florida St. 9.2 PPG, 4 RPG, 45.9 %FG, & 32 %3FG. While his stats aren't off the charts he is a freakish athlete.
https://twitter.com/robeltussin/status/1325921736446111744?s=20
His athleticism is the reason he is projected to be a top 10 pick in the 2020 draft. He's an effective defender whether it be on or off the ball. He uses his size well and knows how to control whatever area he is in. He makes the most of his opportunity and converts when he gets in the paint against a smaller defender. Williams came off the bench in every game he played this past season. He made the most of each opportunity he had on the floor and even had Florida St. start surrounding its offense around him when he was on the floor.
Is the 4th pick too high to draft him?
He is projected to be a top 10 pick in this year's draft but taking him at 4 could be risky. If this were any other draft Williams would most likely find himself falling into the end of the 1st beginning of the 2nd round. With the lack of true stars in this draft, he's found himself in the top 10. With that being said I don't believe it would be a stretch to draft him with the 4th pick. It may seem like a stretch to some outside of the NBA but his athleticism is something that can be built on. Regardless of if it would be a stretch to draft him this early, the real question is how would he fit with the Bulls?
Two-way forward coming off the bench
Since Williams spent his college career coming off the bench he could follow a similar role in the NBA. He's a two-way forward who can defend. He has the size to hold his own in the NBA and he has the drive to do so. The main concern for Williams is his offensive ability. He only averaged 9.2 points per game. Is that his ceiling in terms of scoring? At times it seemed like he didn't have the desire to score. Almost like he was looking to get the ball out of his hands and have someone else score. He's been described as a nice person and that can almost be seen on the court. He plays unselfish but sometimes too unselfish where it doesn't seem like he even wants the ball.
The athleticism is certainly there but if he doesn't want to make the jump offensively to be a scorer then he may find himself in a bench role for his career. Coming off the bench would certainly help Williams at the beginning of his career but the hope with a #4 overall pick would be that they develop into a consistent starter for the team. If the Bulls are content staying at #4 there may be too many other options out there for them to take Williams. If the Bulls want to look into trading back then Williams becomes a realistic option.
As the rumors keep rolling in we will be sure to cover them all. If it isn't coming out of the Advocate Center we will have to wait until draft night to see if there's any merit behind it.
