Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
LAS VEGAS --- The fact that Patrick Williams re-signed with the Chicago Bulls for five years and $90 million and it’s not even the most important storyline surrounding the fifth-year forward tells you all you need to know about his importance to this next roster iteration.
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Williams’ season ended in late February after just 43 games, and he underwent left foot surgery shortly thereafter.
After last month’s NBA Draft, executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas didn’t commit to Williams being ready for training camp. But with just two words, Williams said he will be.
“For sure,” he said on Saturday at halftime of the Bulls’ summer-league opening victory.
Williams attended the game with Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry and Chris Duarte, who was acquired from Sacramento in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade acquisition.
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Initially sidelined by a bone edema, Williams said that resting the bone bruise has been a large part of his rehabilitation, which was estimated at four to six months. But he’s now being cleared to do more.
“I’m running and jumping now with no pain, no swelling. So it’s just a matter of getting my legs back under me,” Williams said. “The bone is fully healed. That rehab process is pretty much resting, making sure that I’m getting enough rest on that foot. Going over some things like how you run, how you walk, some preventative things. But for the most part, it’s let the bone rest, let the body do what it does.
“After not being able to jump around for four months, the muscles in the leg, the Achilles strength, the pop that comes with playing a lot, you have to gain that back. That’s the same if I sprained my ankle and I’m out two weeks. It’s going to take a little bit of time to get that pop back. That’s kind of what I’m dealing with now. It couldn’t happen at a better time.”
Neither could the Bulls’ belief in the forward, who, as the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, represents Karnišovas’ first significant personnel move. Williams didn’t even entertain other offers in restricted free agency, indicating his desire to re-sign before June 30.
“They believe in me. I believe in them,” he said. “And we’re ready to get to work.”
With the departures of DeRozan and Alex Caruso, it’s clear management is focused on a youth movement as the centerpiece of this next roster iteration. With career averages 9.7 points and 41 percent 3-point shooting, Williams has shown promise as a “3-and-D” wing.
He also played all 82 games in his third season but has had two of his first four seasons cut short due to surgeries.
Williams said the new contract offers nice security for his family but hasn’t changed his day-to-day life and won’t change his work ethic.
“For sure obviously it’s big for my family. For me, the work doesn’t stop,” Williams said. “The way I think about it is it’s more work, more on my shoulders, being a leader for this team now, using some of my experience, but also still growing.
“I’m ready. Can’t say anything now that’s going to stop us from the work we have to put in. I think we have the pieces that we need. The roster isn’t solidified but I’m happy where we are now. It’s all about the work. And we have a good group of guys that will do that.”
DeRozan took a strong interest in all the young players but had a special bond with Williams, whom he invited to his offseason workouts for two straight offseasons. Williams said he still talks to DeRozan “all the time” and joked about how he’s going to be talking trash to him on the court when they play next season.
“That’s a relationship that goes beyond basketball,” Williams said. “Just to be able to play with him for the time that I did, the things that I learned from him and took from him, he knows I’m going to use it this upcoming year and the rest of my life really. That’s a brother for life.”