NBA rumors: Bulls lose Patrick Williams, Jordan Poole ‘displeased,’ Thunder waive Pokusevski

NBA Rumors: Patrick Williams out for rest of season

What a difference less than two weeks can make. 

Ahead of the All-Star break, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told reporters that talented young wing Patrick Williams was no longer dealing with “discomfort” while walking, expressing optimism about a potential return to the court sooner than later.

Shortly thereafter, Donovan backtracked his comments by saying that Williams is still experiencing “mild” discomfort, adding that the Bulls will take a cautious approach with their promising forward.

Now, it’s been announced that Williams will undergo season-ending surgery to repair bone edema in his left foot, according to an official report from the NBA. 

The Paw has been sidelined since Jan. 25 due to the injury and will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season because of it, a brutal blow for a Bulls team jostling for Play-In Tournament/playoff seeding.

Since being selected fourth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Williams has developed into an ideal 3-and-D wing who can take and make threes at an efficient rate on one end of the floor while defending multiple positions on the other.

In 43 games this season, Williams averaged 10 points while shooting 39.9 percent from beyond the arc on 3.4 attempts per game.

Williams will be a restricted free agent this offseason after he and the Bulls couldn’t agree on a rookie-scale contract extension before the season, with reports suggesting the former was seeking north of $20 million annually.