Report: Bulls “More Willing Than Ever” To Trade One Particular Player

The Chicago Bulls have a few prime trade candidates this season, as they begin to look at a retooling. There's Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, among others.

But the one player that the Bulls are "more willing than ever" to trade, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, is Patrick Williams.

Bulls are “more willing than ever” to trade Patrick Williams, per @jakelfischer.

This season Williams is averaging:
9.9 PTS
5.0 REB
2.3 AST
37.6% FG
39.4% 3P pic.twitter.com/ApicQZYPv7
— NBA Stream 🏀 (@NBAStreamIG) November 23, 2024

Fischer even suggests the Golden State Warriors could be a team to look at Williams as a potential add, as they look for another perimeter defender.

However, there are two pretty major reasons that a Williams trade would be difficult for the Bulls to pull off right now:

1) He's only in the first season of a five-year, $90 million contract. This is a pretty reasonable contract, and he's a young player with potential, and a former No. 4 overall pick in the NBA Draft (2020). However, when you take point (2) into account, it's worth a pause...

2) Williams had season-ending foot surgery back in February due to a foot stress reaction in his bone edema, limiting him to just 43 games last season, and now he's experiencing pain in that left foot, and is temporarily out of the lineup. Not a good sign.

He also missed all but 17 games in his sophomore season in 2021-22 due to a broken wrist.

Last year, in his 43 games, he averaged 10 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 39.9% from three. This season, the numbers are very similar in his 15 games, with 9.9 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 39.4% from long range.