Predicting the Chicago Bulls’ starting five for the 2022-23 season

Chicago Bulls projected power forward: Patrick Williams

Now in his third season out of Florida State, combo wing Patrick Williams has become a Schrodinger’s Cat-esque player for the Bulls. Because he only appeared in 17 games last year thanks to a wrist injury, so much of what he offers remains in the “potential” folder.

We’ve seen snapshots of what Williams can do — most notably a 35-point game in the season finale against the Minnesota Timberwolves — but those glimpses also come with far too many moments when he passes up quality looks on offense (22nd percentile in usage rate).

With DeRozan and LaVine on the roster (not to mention Vučević), no one expects Williams to turn into the primary option on offense (unless those players succumb to injury), but the Bulls hope that Williams at least becomes a less-timid shooter (especially with the lack of spacing this team has) while his defense continues to develop.

While his metrics have varied in that area — Box Plus/Minus viewed him as a net positive on defense while metrics like RAPTOR and LEBRON did not — Williams still profiles as a solid, switchable wing defender who should alleviate some of LaVine and DeRozan’s guarding responsibilities.