Patrick Williams is having his worst year

[Jcool0]

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[mj234eva]

Gross

[Guru]

He played well tonight

[dawhizz]

He played well tonight

He played not awful. That’s not the same as playing well.

[Ice Man]

Need I write the obvious? I guess I do. If Pat and Matas are the future of this franchise, meaning their two anchor players, this team won't see .500 for a long, long time.

(Note: It's not that I think Matas will be bad. He's not a good NBA player now, but the tools are obvious. However, his likeliest outcome is becoming a solid & useful player. as opposed to a star who anchors a team.)

[Am2626]

Need I write the obvious? I guess I do. If Pat and Matas are the future of this franchise, meaning their two anchor players, this team won't see .500 for a long, long time.

(Note: It's not that I think Matas will be bad. He's not a good NBA player now, but the tools are obvious. However, his likeliest outcome is becoming a solid & useful player. as opposed to a star who anchors a team.)

Matas is an example of why talented high school players should be developing their game in college. Had Matas spent 2-3 years in college he would have a much better chance at NBA success instead of the broken path he took.

[GoBlue72391]

Need I write the obvious? I guess I do. If Pat and Matas are the future of this franchise, meaning their two anchor players, this team won't see .500 for a long, long time.

(Note: It's not that I think Matas will be bad. He's not a good NBA player now, but the tools are obvious. However, his likeliest outcome is becoming a solid & useful player. as opposed to a star who anchors a team.)

Matas is an example of why talented high school players should be developing their game in college. Had Matas spent 2-3 years in college he would have a much better chance at NBA success instead of the broken path he took.

Counterpoint: he would have been a non-lottery pick if he played 2-3 years of college ball and therefore made less money.

He still has a pretty good chance of NBA success regardless.

[League Circles]

Need I write the obvious? I guess I do. If Pat and Matas are the future of this franchise, meaning their two anchor players, this team won't see .500 for a long, long time.

(Note: It's not that I think Matas will be bad. He's not a good NBA player now, but the tools are obvious. However, his likeliest outcome is becoming a solid & useful player. as opposed to a star who anchors a team.)

Matas is an example of why talented high school players should be developing their game in college. Had Matas spent 2-3 years in college he would have a much better chance at NBA success instead of the broken path he took.

Playing basketball part time against inferior talent is why virtually every nba prospect plays only the obligatory 1 year between HS and NBA.

[eierluke]

send him to g-league. He makes Christian Felicio s contract looking like the steal of the century.
As long as Giddey is out all remaining foward minutes should go to Smith and Huerter (and a minority to Terry and Phillips)

[WookieOnRitalin]

send him to g-league. He makes Christian Felicio s contract looking like the steal of the century.
As long as Giddey is out all remaining foward minutes should go to Smith and Huerter (and a minority to Terry and Phillips)

It is quite telling that a guy who has all the physical tools in the world cannot put it together or stay healthy. He also does not want it. My issue with Williams is he has no passion for playing. He is the opposite of a Paxson guy.

[Jcool0]

send him to g-league. He makes Christian Felicio s contract looking like the steal of the century.
As long as Giddey is out all remaining foward minutes should go to Smith and Huerter (and a minority to Terry and Phillips)

It is quite telling that a guy who has all the physical tools in the world cannot put it together or stay healthy. He also does not want it. My issue with Williams is he has no passion for playing. He is the opposite of a Paxson guy.

There is zero percent chance Gar/Pax take Williams at 4. I'm sure he still has nightmares from passing on LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas.

[DuckIII]

Need I write the obvious? I guess I do. If Pat and Matas are the future of this franchise, meaning their two anchor players, this team won't see .500 for a long, long time.

Why do you think anyone thinks that, including the organization? Pat more or less plays the same role as Dalen Terry now. It’s pretty obvious that unless he “breaks out” the organization is more or less done with him. At least as any type of guy they intend to rely on heavily.

Yes, it’s obvious. Including the Matas part. As high as I am on him - I assume we are all - he’s not a “franchise cornerstone” prospect on a contender. I do think if it all goes right for him he can be #2 on a contender. But we don’t have “the guy” on the roster yet, no doubt. Hence the importance of getting worse to increase draft odds and trading players for more picks.

[sco]

I really want the Bulls to be smart enough to realize how badly Pat needs to go to Johnny-Dribbles-A-Lot. Can we start a go fund me campaign?

Pat also needs to stop attacking the rim all together. He isn't a dunker. He can't make lay-ups. He loses the ball in traffing. I know that he's been told to do it, but it's killing him. Let him play to his strengths and camp out on the 3pt line. If he has to go inside the arc, take a 15 foot jumper...that's his offensive game.

[DASMACKDOWN]

Need I write the obvious? I guess I do. If Pat and Matas are the future of this franchise, meaning their two anchor players, this team won't see .500 for a long, long time.

Yes, it’s obvious. Including the Matas part. As high as I am on him - I assume we are all - he’s not a “franchise cornerstone” prospect on a contender. I do think if it all goes right for him he can be #2 on a contender. But we don’t have “the guy” on the roster yet, no doubt. Hence the importance of getting worse to increase draft odds and trading players for more picks.

I guess you have to define your meaning of "franchise cornerstone."

If you mean generational superstar then absolutely. But if you mean a guy that will be a pillar of 8-10 years plus, then that is a cornerstone.

Noah, Deng, Kirk, Taj were cornerstones. They got "elevated" because we also got Derrick Rose.

If we can find our version of Derrick Rose (maybe Giannis decides to come thru ) then I can certainly see a Giddy, Ayo, Coby, Matas being a fixture in your franchise.

[DuckIII]

Need I write the obvious? I guess I do. If Pat and Matas are the future of this franchise, meaning their two anchor players, this team won't see .500 for a long, long time.

Yes, it’s obvious. Including the Matas part. As high as I am on him - I assume we are all - he’s not a “franchise cornerstone” prospect on a contender. I do think if it all goes right for him he can be #2 on a contender. But we don’t have “the guy” on the roster yet, no doubt. Hence the importance of getting worse to increase draft odds and trading players for more picks.

I guess you have to define your meaning of "franchise cornerstone."

If you mean generational superstar then absolutely. But if you mean a guy that will be a pillar of 8-10 years plus, then that is a cornerstone.

Noah, Deng, Kirk, Taj were cornerstones. They got "elevated" because we also got Derrick Rose.

If we can find our version of Derrick Rose (maybe Giannis decides to come thru ) then I can certainly see a Giddy, Ayo, Coby, Matas being a fixture in your franchise.

By franchise cornerstone I mean literally the foundational piece on which to build an entire franchise. I.e., your franchise player. Which, to be clear, is not the same thing as a “generational superstar.” The “g” word gets used there to emphasize extreme rarity. Maybe at any given time in the NBA you have 2-3 or so such guys in their prime at the same time. Franchise cornerstone is more like a top 15-20 player depending on league depth at the time.

[DASMACKDOWN]

As a guy that was on the last stop of the PWill train, I cant be more disappointed in him.

I realize now that Patrick has no clue how he wants to play. How to play in that space. Or how to use his body.

Its like he has a decent jumper but doesn't use it vs previous years. His dribble has progressively gotten worse. He has clue how to finish around the basket or draw fouls and he cant dunk consistently.

Its an absolute mess.

Like I said before, the only thing we can do is try to rehab his status. He needs to seriously do cardio all offseason to get his weight down. Work on his handle and get in the lab of how to play basketball.

Right now he just looks the part but with no game. We have given up on being Kawhi, or a top level player. Im just asking to be a good role player so we can see if he can even be that.

[sco]

As a guy that was on the last stop of the PWill train, I cant be more disappointed in him.

I realize now that Patrick has no clue how he wants to play. How to play in that space. Or how to use his body.

Its like he has a decent jumper but doesn't use it vs previous years. His dribble has progressively gotten worse. He has clue how to finish around the basket or draw fouls and he cant dunk consistently.

Its an absolute mess.

Like I said before, the only thing we can do is try to rehab his status. He needs to seriously do cardio all offseason to get his weight down. Work on his handle and get in the lab of how to play basketball.

Right now he just looks the part but with no game. We have given up on being Kawhi, or a top level player. Im just asking to be a good role player so we can see if he can even be that.

Right on!

I think his biggest problem is that when he starts to drive, he has no idea what he wants to do with the ball. He used to want to get the rim, but I think he has fumbled the ball or been blocked so many times, he's developed the yips.

I think he just needs to go back to shooting 3's and maybe work in a push shot in the paint and rebuild from there. But I think the staff spent so much time trying to get him to be aggressive that they are afraid to back-track.

[Ice Man]

Why do you think anyone thinks that, including the organization?

KC Johnson apparently does, as my post responded to his statement.

[Ice Man]

I think he just needs to go back to shooting 3's and maybe work in a push shot in the paint and rebuild from there. But I think the staff spent so much time trying to get him to be aggressive that they are afraid to back-track.

Essentially every basketball-development maxim that is commonly stated by fans is incomplete -

1) He needs to start, to develop
2) He needs to get more minutes, to develop
3) He needs to expand his game, to develop
4) He needs to be more aggressive, to develop

And so forth.

Yes, those things *can* hold, for some players in some situations. But they can also be damaging in other situations, by asking the player to do what he cannot do, and/or making the game too confusing to him, and/or hurting his confidence by putting him a position where he succeeds rather than fails. Development isn't just about throwing a player into deep, cold water. Sometimes, it can be wading in the shallows, to get a feel for the water.

[rosenthall]

As a guy that was on the last stop of the PWill train, I cant be more disappointed in him.

I realize now that Patrick has no clue how he wants to play. How to play in that space. Or how to use his body.

Its like he has a decent jumper but doesn't use it vs previous years. His dribble has progressively gotten worse. He has clue how to finish around the basket or draw fouls and he cant dunk consistently.

Its an absolute mess.

Like I said before, the only thing we can do is try to rehab his status. He needs to seriously do cardio all offseason to get his weight down. Work on his handle and get in the lab of how to play basketball.

Right now he just looks the part but with no game. We have given up on being Kawhi, or a top level player. Im just asking to be a good role player so we can see if he can even be that.

Next year Pat really needs to simplify his game. He just looked so confused out there. It was sad seeing him continually fumble the ball against the worst team in the league.

It's crazy that his recognition looks worse now than when he was a 19 year old rookie. This is the big risk with making big investments in mental midgets. You can't bank on them working through difficult situations. Eddy Curry fell apart as his career went on too. They're cut from the same cloth.