Patrick Williams $90M deal can be a bargain for the Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are investing in their future.

Patrick Williams has re-signed with the Bulls on a five year, $90 million deal that will take the former fourth overall pick through his age 27 season. The fifth year of the contract is a player option.

Williams, 22, has had an underwhelming first four years of his career. During those seasons, Williams has hardly seen a change in his box score stats. His scoring has stayed within one point per game his entire career. His rebounds have stayed within 0.7 per game his entire career.

[More on Karnisovas’ comments about the selection of Matas Buzelis]

Williams has been an efficient three-point shooter (albeit on low volume), a good on-ball defender of big wings and has flashed creation upside sparingly. He has shown some potential, but for the most part, inconsistency and lack of aggression have been the headliners.

So while it may appear to be an overpay based on his previous production, this actually a great piece of business for Arturas Karnisovas and the Bulls front office. Instead of letting Williams get other offers as a restricted free agent, which could have been far more lucrative, they lock him into a long-term deal. Instead of signing him to a three-year deal as they did with Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White, they secure him on what should be a manageable, if not bargain deal.

Here’s how the math breaks down on each of his years, including eight percent raises.

• Year 1: $15.5M (11 percent of the cap)
• Year 2: $16.8M (11 percent of the cap)
• Year 3: $18M (11 percent of the cap)
• Year 4: $19.2M (10 percent of the cap)
• Year 5 (player option): $20.5M (10 percent of the cap)

While it seems like a lot of money for someone who averages 10 points and four rebounds, in the context of where the money is going, and what types of players that money is going to, it could well end up being a steal.

Even if Williams never becomes a star, the Bulls are paying him like a role player. For context, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception is about nine percent of the cap. Jaden McDaniels, a player of a similar archetype, earned a five-year, $131 million deal last summer. Devin Vassell, Williams’ college teammate, signed for five years, $135 million. OG Anunoby just got a five-year, $213 million deal.

Williams hasn’t been as productive as any of them, but it speaks to the value of his position and player type. He was playing his best ball before he got hurt. And still at just 22 years old, he has time to grow. The Bulls aren’t paying for what he has done, they’re paying for the player they hope he can turn into.

This deal doesn’t come without risk. Williams production and inconsistencies aside, the foot injury he is currently recovering from has yet to be fully resolved.Karnisovas told media Williams was “still on his way to recovery” following the NBA Draft.

“I think so,” Karnisovas said when asked whether Williams would be ready to start the year. “He was planning to be ready for training camp.”

While this wasn’t the most encouraging update — Williams underwent surgery in early April 2024. But clearly it hadn’t prevented the two sides from coming together to get a deal done.

With Free Agency kicking off on Sunday at 5 pm central time, there is still plenty of intrigue about what the Bulls will do. Following the Williams signing, without first trading Zach LaVine or wiping off salary in other ways, the most the Bulls can offer DeMar DeRozan is $22M per year. Not only is that nearly half the original figures reported following the season, it’s less than what he was making with the Bulls last season.

After swapping Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey, and drafting upside play Matas Buzelis with the 11th pick in the 2024 Draft, all indications point towards the Bulls putting the ball in the hands of their young players, which is exactly what they should be doing.

And when they do, maybe we’ll finally get to see what Williams can be.

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