Chicago Bulls: Pro comparisons for Patrick Williams, Marko Simonovic
By Ryan Heckman
The Chicago Bulls added two unique players in the 2020 NBA Draft, and both could contribute to a change in culture.
The 2020 NBA Draft provided some fun and excitement for fans around the globe, and specifically for the Chicago Bulls, we saw them head in a new direction.
New Vice President Arturas Karnisovas was on a mission to go out and get players with high potential. The Bulls needed to find someone at number four who could make an impact, specifically on defense if possible, and they did just that.
With their first rounder at no. 4 overall, the Bulls took forward Patrick Williams.
Williams is a 6-foot-8 forward out of Florida State who was a serious riser over the last few weeks. As a freshman last year, Williams didn’t start a game for the Seminoles, but did more than enough to catch the attention of NBA scouts.
He joins key forwards Otto Porter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Thaddeus Young and Chandler Hutchison in Chicago, with maybe Porter or Young being expendable at this point. For such a youthful team like the Bulls, focused on molding their young guys, fans should look for Williams to get some run as a rookie.
In the second round, with pick no. 44 overall, Karnisovas went to his wheelhouse. He and the Bulls snagged international stud big man Marko Simonovic out of Mega Bemax, a pro club in Serbia.
This pick was arguably the most interesting possible pick Karnisovas could have made in the second round because of one reason and one reason only: Mega Bemax is where Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic played some international ball before going pro. Obviously, with Karnisovas coming from Denver, it makes this pick incredibly juicy — if you can even say that about a second rounder.
Karnisovas clearly did his homework on these two picks, and the Bulls look forward to seeing how they pan out as pros amongst such a young core. How do they compare to current pros? Let’s dive in.