It has been a frustrating offseason for the Chicago Bulls, but what is new? The team has failed to pick a direction once again, stuck in mediocrity, thanks to the veterans on bad contracts whom they can not move, and refusing to accept reality and embrace the rebuild. Other than sending Lonzo Ball away in favor of Isaac Okoro, the Bulls have largely stood pat, including reaching a stalemate in extension negotiations with Josh Giddey.
One move the Bulls did make, however, was drafting Noa Essengue with the 12th-overall pick. The 18-year-old French power forward is one of the youngest players in the draft class and has a ton of upside.
Patrick Williams Is Now Expendable in Chicago
Considering that the Bulls also have Matas Buzelis, they potentially have their future forward pairing between the two talented youngsters. The Bulls would be wise to give Buzelis and Essengue as many minutes as they can handle, meaning that Patrick Williams may no longer be a part of the plans in Chicago.
This is a disappointing development for Williams, who has been underwhelming during his five-year Chicago stint. Despite showing little during his rookie contract, the Bulls still awarded him with a five-year, $90 million extension. This backfired immensely as Williams had the worst season of his career last season in the first year of that deal.
The former Florida State standout had 51.2% True Shooting, an embarrassingly low efficiency for a low-usage player like Williams. He hasn't emerged as a defensive stopper, either, making him a questionable fit and an even more questionable contract.
Now that the Bulls have two prospects who play the same position as Williams, they should be more than willing to move on from the 23-year-old. Whether they will be able to get anything positive in return remains to be seen, but Williams' era in Chicago is coming to an end sooner rather than later.