Chicago Bulls Rumors: Patrick Williams has a shot to return this year
By Ryan Heckman
Thursday morning, Chicago Bulls Vice President Arturas Karnisovas joined the Mully & Haugh show and gave us all plenty of good stuff.
In the midst of one of the best Bulls seasons in the past two-plus decades, Karnisovas deserves to be excited. He should be. His optimism and excitement around these Bulls was evident.
Karnisovas talked about the group they have right now, how confident he is in them overall, and also hinted at the notion that they will always listen when it comes to improving the roster.
One key area the Bulls have been thin at is in the front court. Since Patrick Williams was lost for the year to a wrist injury, the Bulls have been forced to try a whole bunch of different lineups to help ease the pain of his loss. Fortunately, Karnisovas also blessed us with a ray of hope in this area during his time on the show.
On with @mullyhaugh, Arturas Karnisovas declines to put a timeline on a potential return for Patrick Williams (wrist).
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) January 6, 2022
"We're not going to put any pressure" on him," Karnisovas says.
Internally, there's certainly still optimism he can return.
According to Arturas Karnisovas, Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams has a chance to return from injury this season.
During Williams’ absence, head coach Billy Donovan has experimented with a few different guys in his place. Donovan has played Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr. and even Alex Caruso in his place.
The Bulls are currently 25-10, in first place, and riding an 8-game winning streak, while playing the best basketball they have played all season. DeMar DeRozan has been one of the hottest hands on the planet during this stretch, coming up big time with two back-to-back buzzer beaters in a couple of wins. But, he’s also done it all — not just score.
DeRozan has been everywhere and doing everything to help this team win, especially late. Between he and LaVine, the Bulls have thrived.
But, if they could get Williams back in the fold before the playoffs, this Bulls team would be even stronger. Being able to stick Caruso, Green and Jones on the bench together would be such a luxury for this squad.
While all three of them have done an admirable job filling in at that four spot on occasion, Williams’ size and versatility is dearly missed. It would only further cement the Bulls as the Eastern Conference favorite.
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Should Williams be able to return before playoff time, the Bulls officially become the deepest team in the East, no question.