The Chicago Bulls have been heavily criticized for their confusing offseason.
We don’t need to repeat it ad nauseam, but the Bulls failed to maximize their best trade assets and are still stuck with the lingering Zach LaVine drama and a roster with no clear direction.
They have had their photos taken in the national media, most recently in John Hollinger of The Athletic (subscription) who included another Bulls offseason mistake in an article about underrated bad deals.
He talks about the Bulls signing Patrick Williams to a lucrative 5-year contract, a deal that was much reviewed on this site.
Williams hasn’t done much to warrant a $90 million contract, especially with an inexplicable player option at the end. He hasn’t progressed in four seasons and no team in the league could have offered him that much, and if there had been, the Bulls should have let them do it and walked away.
The Detroit Pistons, a team not exactly known for its spectacular moves lately, signed Isaiah Stewart to a contract worth nearly $30 million less than Williams, with no fifth-year or player options, which looks like a steal in comparison.
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Chicago was in position to play hardball, but instead bet big that Williams would finally improve, stay healthy and make this deal look like a steal for a quality two-way wing.
It was a $90 million gamble based on hope, but it didn’t just cost the Bulls salary cap space and a roster spot.
The Bulls have been criticized for their possible DeMar DeRozan’s sign and businessbecause they got the worst return on the 3 team trade even though they had the best player.
The Bulls were left with expiring contracts and two second-round picks, while the Spurs were seen as the big winners, walking away with Harrison Barnes and a 2031 unprotected pick swap from Sacramento, the package the Bulls could have had had they not signed Patrick Williams according to Hollinger:
“Rehiring Williams wasn’t just a cost on paper; Chicago could have been offered Harrison Barnes and a free pick swap with Sacramento in the DeMar DeRozan deal had they not rehired Williams. (With Williams on the books, adding Barnes would have plunged the Bulls into the luxury tax; despite playing in the league’s third-largest market, that line is effectively an electrified fence for Chicago ownership.)”
Harrison Barnes is a better player than Williams, and if the Bulls were seriously interested in a playoff run, he would have contributed to that effort.
He’s also on the same salary as Williams for the next two seasons, so he could potentially be a trade asset as an expiring contract and money that could be used in a big trade.
Then there’s the pick trade. Admittedly, San Antonio managed to swindle the Kings out of a second asset just to get them out of the financial straits of bringing in DeMar DeRozan.
Who knows where the Kings will be in 2031, but it’s a safe bet they won’t be good and the trade is unprotected. The Kings could end up at the back of the pack, with the Spurs holding a valuable lottery pick just for taking Barnes for two years.
The Bulls are in desperate need of assets in the draft and missed an opportunity to get a valuable one.
The Bulls instead gambled on Patrick Williams, which hampered them in the trade market in a way that will come back to haunt them if he never reaches his potential.
