After losing four of their last five, the Chicago Bulls have dropped to 18-23 on the season, clinging onto a play-in spot as they sit in 10th place in the East.
Chicago has been led by star guard Zach LaVine, averaging 23.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, while some of their key pieces have stepped up to help pick up some nice wins. Guys like Nikola Vucevic, Josh Giddey, and Coby White have all been impressive along the way.
While the Bulls have had some standouts, they have also been disappointed by some performers. 23-year-old forward Patrick Williams is averaging 9.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per game, shooting just 38.1% from the field.
The Bulls drafted Williams fourth overall in 2020, and the 6-foot-7 forward has not progressed into anything more than a role player. Williams has started 30 of his 31 games this season, but his on-court product is far from what Chicago expected from him.
Following his rough start, Williams spoke to The Chicago Tribune and opened up about his struggles.
“I really don’t have an answer for it.”
“It’s obviously a challenge,” Williams told the Tribune. “I never want to be bad at anything on the court. I always want to try to make the right play. I work really hard at it. I don’t have one reason that I can give you for any of it.”
As a rookie, fans thought Williams’ potential was through the roof, but the young wing has not shown much improvement throughout his five-year career. It is certainly challenging for a player not to see the on-court results they work for, especially when they are unsure what the problem is.
Williams is young and still has time to improve and could find himself being part of Chicago’s core going forward, but the franchise certainly needs to see more from him.
