Former FSU Star Patrick Williams Fails To Sign Extension With Chicago Bulls Before Deadline
Former Florida State star Patrick Williams did not an extension with the Chicago Bulls, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Monday at 6 p.m. EST was the final day for players from the 2020 draft class to sign their rookie extensions, and Williams was one of the bigger names coming into the day who hadn't signed a contract.
Williams has had an up-and-down NBA career thus far, after COVID-19 canceled most of training camp his first season, then he dislocated his left wrist just five games into his second season and missed the majority of the 2021-22 campaign. He bounced back with a solid third season for the Bulls in 2022-23, averaging 10.2 PPG and 4.0 RPG while shooting 46.4% from the floor. He's hoping to take a big jump this season, and should see more than the 8.3 FGA attempts he saw per game last season.
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The Bulls are locked into some major contracts, with Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, and Coby White set to make a combined $96 million, if Ball picks up his player option. Williams would have a qualifying offer worth a little over $ 12 million or he'll be a restricted free agent next offseason and can sign a tender that the Bulls could hypothetically match, if they wanted to. DeMar DeRozan is a free agent after this season.
Chicago has been stuck in no man's land for the past decade it feels like, having made the playoffs just twice since 2015-16, though they did have a play-in appearance last season before being knocked out by the Miami Heat. There's a decent chance that if they start off slow again this season that they decide to sell off LaVine and DeRozan to recoup some assets before letting DeRozan walk in free agency. Between the lack of team success, big contracts already on the books, and Williams reportedly wanting a sizable contract, it may make more sense on Chicago's end to reassess after the season.
While at Florida State, Patrick Williams averaged 9.2 PPG and 4.0 RPG during FSU's infamous 2019-20 season and was coming on in a big way towards the end of the season, primed for a big ACC and NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, COVID-19 canceled the remainder of the post-season, and we never got to see that team reach its potential, and many wondered if it would impact Williams' draft stock. He used the prolonged off-season and draft process to nail interviews and crush workouts, working his way up from a mid-to-late 1st round pick, to being the 4th overall pick by Chicago.
I was told at the time he had a guarantee from the Detroit Pistons who had the 7th pick if he made it any further. His college teammate, Devin Vassell, was another member of that 2020 NBA Draft and he just signed a massive 5-year/$146 million deal to stay with the San Antonio Spurs.
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