- Patrick Williams will sign a five-year, $90 million deal to stay with the Chicago Bulls, as was revealed on Saturday night.
- Williams’ return re-ingratiates a familiar face and a building block for the Bulls’ future into their fold for years to come.
- Having averaged 10.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 2023-24, Williams has proven to be a reliable three-point shooter with room for improvement in other areas of his game.
Patrick Williams won’t be leaving the Windy City any time soon. Williams agreed to a five-year, $90 million deal to return to the Chicago Bulls this offseason. The Bulls’ former No. 4 overall pick has spent all four seasons of his NBA career in Chicago and will approach his 10-year capstone with the franchise once his lucrative deal elapses.
News of the North Carolina native’s decision came late on Saturday night by way of Shams Charania of The Athletic. The 22-year-old talent is the first marquee Bulls piece to declare his long-term allegiance to the team this summer. Chicago recently dealt reigning All-Defensive Second-Team point guard Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for point-forward Josh Giddey.
The Bulls are also dealing with the likelihood of losing franchise player DeMar DeRozan in unrestricted free agency and are also looking to unload former All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine via trade.
Williams’ return to the Bulls re-ingratiates a familiar face into their fold who has tremendous promise that could be assumed should his workload increase in future seasons. As the Bulls appear to be headed for a roster shakeup, Williams figures to be a building block for their future for years down the road.
Patrick Williams Is a Rare Floor-Spacing Four For The Bulls
Williams has begun his career shooting 41 percent from three
Williams has been a consistent power forward for the Bulls to date. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound big man most recently averaged 10.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per game for Chicago in 2023-24 across 43 games played, 30 of which he started.
Williams has given the Bulls the luxury of having a reliable three-point shooting four man on the floor. His marksmanship from outside has fulfilled one-half of his label as a coveted three-and-d option for Bulls head coach Billy Donovan:
| Patrick Williams – Three-Point Shooting By Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA Season | 3PM | 3PT% | 3PM Per 36 | 3PA Per 36 |
| 2020-21 | 0.8 | 39.1% | 1.0 | 2.5 |
| 2021-22 | 0.9 | 51.7% | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| 2022-23 | 1.4 | 41.5% | 1.8 | 4.3 |
| 2023-24 | 1.4 | 39.9% | 1.8 | 4.5 |
Williams also earned a 115.5 defensive rating in the regular season, showing his potential and room for improvement on that side of the floor. His 114.3 offensive rating ranked No. 3 on the team in 2023-24.
The Bulls will look to have Williams continue to shoot with confidence from deep and polish his defensive prowess while imposing himself as more of a threat on the glass.
Given the fact that the Florida State product has started off his career efficiently, shooting 41 percent from three-point range and 46.9 percent from the field while keeping his turnovers low at 1.3 TO per game, he’s given the franchise reason to believe that he can take the next step in the ensuing seasons and make good on their healthy investment in him.
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