The Chicago Bulls so far in January have played poorly being 4-9 this month and are trending downward with their latest loss on Saturday to the Philadelphia 76ers.
One of the Bulls starters power forward Patrick Williams was nowhere to be seen in the loss and has been nowhere to be seen offensively this whole month.
Williams and head coach Billy Donovan were asked about his play, and both gave drastically different answers as to what was going on with Williams.
An abysmal month of January for the Chicago Bulls Patrick Williams
The former first-round pick in the 2020 NBA draft has not had the best month so far with virtually being nowhere to be seen in the Bulls offense. In 13 games played this month, Williams has averaged 25.7 minutes, 7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, while only shooting 31.7% from the floor and a terrible 28.8% from three.
Williams’s season averages are no better averaging 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists in 26.6 minutes played and in 35 games started. Williams’s poor play hasn’t gone unnoticed with head coach Billy Donovan feeling that Williams is doing too much and is being overly aggressive which is leading to poor play as of late with Bulls insider K.C. Johnson there to grab the quote.
“Billy Donovan on Patrick Williams: “I think he’s trying to be aggressive. He just hasn’t converted well.”
Billy Donovan on Patrick Williams: “I think he’s trying to be aggressive. He just hasn’t converted well.”
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 26, 2025
Williams responded when asked if he lost confidence in his game by stating that if he knew what was wrong, he would’ve already fixed it.
“More Williams: “I know what I’ve done in this league. My teammates know. My coaches know. That’s why they’re so on me. Nobody wants it more than me. I guarantee you that. If I had answers, it would be fixed already. All I know is work. That’s what got me here. Work through it.”
More Williams: "I know what I've done in this league. My teammates know. My coaches know. That's why they're so on me. Nobody wants it more than me. I guarantee you that. If I had answers, it would be fixed already. All I know is work. That's what got me here. Work through it." https://t.co/lqE1sjtjSk
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 26, 2025
This sounds like Williams is lost offensively and is indeed trying to do too much in the way of forcing shots and committing unnecessary fouls to force himself out of this slump. Williams needs to slow the game down and let it come to him to get back on track.
William’s name has been floated on the trade block
The Bulls are possibly looking to be sellers at next month’s deadline with this season not going as they had hoped it would. There has been a ton of interest in stars like Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic who could be moved, but the Bulls have also put out feelers to gauge the interest for the 23-year-old Williams.
Williams could benefit from a change of scenery if he doesn’t turn his play around by the Feb. 6 deadline and could bring back a decent haul of either picks or players. Moving Williams could benefit the Bulls with rookie forward Matas Buzelis impressing while out on the court and set to partake in the NBA Dunk Contest during the All-Star break. There are also growing calls for Buzelis to play more from fans with him being the team’s leading in blocks while only averaging 12 minutes per game.
Williams needs to turn it around
Time will tell if Williams will be traded at next month’s deadline to make room for Buzelis to get more minutes off the bench.
With three games left in the month, there is still a chance for Williams to turn things around so he can go into the All-Star break with a ton of confidence.
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