NBA Power Rankings 2: Jordan Poole leads breakout candidates
The Chicago Bulls punted on the youth movement over the past nine months, trading or dumping multiple young players in order to assemble a team ready to win now around Zach LaVine. That doesn’t mean they completely punted on youth, as they still have 20-year-old Patrick Williams slotted to start, and they signed Lonzo Ball to a four-year deal just coming off his rookie contract.
Yet the Bulls are clearly going all out to compete, and they signed a pair of guards to play over Coby White, essentially waving the white flag on his role as a cornerstone of this roster. Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen are gone. This past year’s draft pick could have been Franz Wagner or James Bouknight, and instead, it went to the Magic in the Nikola Vucevic trade. The Bulls mortgaged the future for the now, so we’ll have to see whether that pays off. A hot start to the preseason is a good way to begin.
Breakout Player: Patrick Williams. The Bulls will be relying on the young forward a lot this season, as Williams will likely start and be asked to defend the other team’s most dangerous frontcourt player. At times that might mean sliding up to guard small forwards, and at other times taking on centers. He will be playing between two very shaky defenders in Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan, so he will need to grow up fast.
Williams has the tools to do so, however, and could be up to the task. He was one of the youngest players in last year’s draft and looks like he is fast-tracking his development. In Summer League he looked ahead of his peers already, always a great sign for second-year players. Williams could absolutely take the step forward to be the player the Bulls need.