One player the Thunder should target on each team in the Central Division
By James Barry
Chicago Bulls: Patrick Williams
Somehow, Patrick Williams is still only 22 years old. After three years in Chicago, the Bulls still don’t know what they have in their young forward. This is partly because he only played 17 games in his second season due to a wrist injury, but it’s mostly because they’ve left their 2020 lottery pick in the shadows.
Williams started in 71 games as a rookie, flashing high defensive potential while shooting 39 percent from three. Yet the Bulls attempted to accelerate their rebuild by trading for Nikola Vucevic at the deadline and signing DeMar DeRozan in the offseason.
These acquisitions have stunted Williams’ growth by filling the team’s lineup with established players who need the ball. He hasn’t seen a usage rate of 15 percent. Yet, he has found ways to excel in his limited role.
On defense, he has developed into a versatile wing-stopper. He often guards the other team’s primary scorer. He can defend all forwards with his length and lateral agility while holding up against guards and smaller centers.
On offense, he has fit his role as a stationary shooter. Since he is often left in the corner while DeRozan and Zach LaVine take turns running pick-and-rolls and playing in isolation, he has become an elite shooter from that spot. 2023, he hit 46 percent of his corner threes on high volume.
He’d be an offensive upgrade in the starting lineup over Lu Dort without overly sacrificing on defense. He would enable Jalen Williams to play on the wing, and he’d thrive as a shooter in the Thunder’s drive-and-kick offense.
He could grow in a healthier system with more room to explore his capabilities. Right now, he is a well of untapped potential. OKC could discover how deep that well runs. Ultimately, the price tag for a Patrick Williams trade might be a drop in the bucket relative to all the assets the OKC Thunder have piled up.