Chicago Bulls: These 3 are now under pressure after Mitchell trade
1. Patrick Williams
The Chicago Bulls need Patrick Williams to step up big this 2022-23 season.
Arguably the Chicago Bulls’ most valuable asset is third-year forward Patrick Williams. Patrick Williams is everything any team wants in a modern-day wing. He’s got size, he can handle the rock, shoot, and can defend 1-4 (sometimes even some small ball 5).
However, the knock on Patrick Williams has been his lack of aggressiveness. Some have compared him to Scottie Barnes who came in right away as a rookie to a strong Raptors team and immediately made his mark.
As a result, many fans are unsure if Patrick Williams can really live up to his monikers as ‘The Paw’ and ‘Baby Kawhi’.
By the end of this season, many believe we’ll know who Patrick Williams will be as an NBA player and once his identity is set around the league, his trade value could plummet if that identity doesn’t match the potential projects.
The reason this is significant is that for the Bulls’ trade decisions on DeMar and Vucevic to pay off, Patrick Williams needs to become the best player on this team.
If he becomes the best player on this squad, and Zach, DeMar, Lonzo, and Vooch become his supporting cast, the Chicago Bulls would have true title aspirations. However, if he falls short, the Chicago Bulls will be stuck on a treadmill leading nowhere quickly.
This is why the decision to hold onto him this summer was crucial. It shows that management is banking on Williams living up to his hype.
If they didn’t believe he’d get there, the smart decision would be to cash out on his potential and acquire another veteran star player to go all-in for a title run now.
Ultimately, this decision puts even more pressure on Patrick Williams as it’s now clear what the Chicago Bulls were willing to sacrifice in order to see what he could become.
To be clear, he doesn’t need to become an all-star right away (he’s still so young) but he has to show the development that proves management right for deciding to hold onto him when other immediate upgrades were available this summer.