The Chicago Bulls appear open to trading just about everyone on the team this offseason, but there is a clear favorite they want off the roster before the season starts.
Per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, who the Bulls draft at No. 12 on Wednesday night will determine if the Bulls seek to trade point guard Lonzo Ball or Coby White. If Chicago takes a guard, one of those players is expected to be gone this summer.
The Chicago Bulls want one player off the team
But the Bulls appear done with Patrick Williams. Earlier in the offseason, Chicago’s leadership told the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft that he was on his own following a season where the power forward averaged nine points, 3.8 rebounds, and two assists per game.
“According to a source, the Bulls and (Artūras) Karnisovas have been more responsive to trade talks than they have been in the past,” Cowley wrote. “And while Ball, Vucevic and White are all possibilities to be moved, the name atop Karnisovas’ list to deal entering the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday is Patrick Williams.
“The Bulls have reached the point where they’ve run through most of their developmental staff in an effort to pair Williams with the right personal coach, only to see no upward movement.”
A $90 million contract is a significant obstacle
Because the Bulls gave Williams a shortsighted five-year, $90 million contract extension last year, Chicago will be forced to offload Williams as a part of a trade package or via a multiteam deal.
“(Karnisovas) has invested a lot of work and phone time to try to make that happen,” Cowley wrote. “If Karnisovas can pull off the trade and add a favorable prospect in the draft, he can kick up his feet and deem it a great offseason, given what has happened across the Eastern Conference since the regular season ended.”
Williams, a standout at Florida State, made the NBA’s second-team All-Rookie team. He’s averaged 9.6 rebounds, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists during his time in the association.
But it’s beyond the Bulls’ staff to better the young man they gave nearly $100 million last summer.
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