The Chicago Bulls have been reluctant to trade away young talent since the Nikola Vucevic mega-trade several seasons ago left their following five years with minimal blossoming talent and a depleted draft pick stockpile. Patrick Williams has been a great example of someone they should have moved on from several times, including after his four-year rookie contract. Instead, Arturas Karnisovas inked a five-year extension worth $90 million to keep the forward in Chicago. After a sluggish start to his fifth season, the Bulls finally have decided to dangle the former Florida State Seminole in trade talks, a consideration they’ve withheld from doing with the 23-year-old during his first four lackluster years. While Jake Fischer mainly covered the whereabouts of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic during his livestream this afternoon, he did mention Williams and one trade tidbit that could gain traction over the next week. Where’s he slated to go, and what can Chicago net in return for his services?
Phoenix Swaps Nurkic For Williams
As Fischer admitted, this trade idea is purely speculation. It’s a scenario of Bradley Beal denying the few trade destinations that would have helped the Jimmy Butler trade come to reality and scoping where the Suns may look to rebound for a two-way forward as they hope to gain size at the position before next Thursday. If the Bulls move on from Nikola Vucevic, as it seems more likely than not that they will do, they’ll need a replacement center to finish the season. Jusuf Nurkic is more than likely departing Phoenix and may even be cut if no trade partners are found. Williams was recently added to the trade block in Chicago, and doing the math shows that a clean swap with added draft capital headed to the Bulls could be sensible.
The Suns are in active talks with multiple teams centered on offloading Jusuf Nurkic’s contract alongside one of their first-round picks recently acquired from the Jazz.
Nurkic has played his final game with Phoenix as a deal could happen within the next few days. pic.twitter.com/B54QAilhiX
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) January 30, 2025
Would this trade benefit the Bulls, or should they continue to have faith in Williams’s slow growth as he’s still only 23 years old?
Moving To The Bench Might’ve Saved His Bulls Career
Two games ago, head coach Billy Donovan decided to try Patrick Williams in a reserve role for the first time in his career, aside from injury stints. This was long overdue and pleased many Bulls fans, as Williams never looked comfortable or displayed development in the starting five. A few years ago, his brother explained that he was the sixth man on his college roster and was more used to coming off the pine. In addition, he noted that Williams prefers to start on the sidelines and take the opportunity to study the game, find what his team requires each night, and prepare to attack as needed when his playing time comes. He might be right based on his stellar performance with the second unit over the last two games.
That's probably it for Patrick Williams, who will finish with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a block in second straight strong game.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 30, 2025
Typical Karnisovas fashion would be to let a two-game sample outweigh the first four and a half years of subpar performances from his former top-five draft selection. This would lead to the decision to keep Williams by setting the price tag much too steep and continuing to overpay for a bench contributor.
Should the Bulls take advantage if a Nurkic for Williams swap presents itself?
