The Chicago Bulls select forward Patrick Williams #4 overall.

[MrSparkle]

If you actually look it up, Patrick Williams had the second-highest usage on the squad (amongst rotation players). But furthermore, 5 of the top 7 rotation guys had usage between 20-22%, so I can see the appeal of this program to team-basketball heads like Artunas and Pop/Buford.

Vassell looks good but he is in NBA guard weight-class, under 200 lb. I really think weight matters at the NBA level; you just don’t know how well guys will retain speed and prevent injuries as they add weight, so SAS might have to be patient with Vassell.

Anyway, we can speculate all we want, but fact is Williams is not a secret Ben Simmons. The hope is his NBA body, overall skill-set and high-end defense can put him in the starting lineup within a year.

[MGB8]

Hey everyone develops at different times and ways. Barnes may or may not be able to be better, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on Williams. We shall see. AK claims there was something Williams can do that he didn’t show in college. The biggest handles problem to fix for Williams is that once he starts to make his shot moves, it appears he isn’t good enough to pass out of it if he runs into trouble. Or good enough to set up someone in a secondary playmaker role. Not that I can recall seeing. The bread and butter plays. AK didnt specify what he was impressed with. The handles AK is likely referring to is stuff like taking the ball off the glass and going down to set up or shoot on the other side. And having the ability to get off his own shot. The problem with that is, he won’t be able to get off his own shot in the NBA once the defense understands they can blitz him without worrying about getting burned. Hopefully he has gained or gotten better at that which he did not show.

I don't agree. In some of the "flashes" in the youtubes you see some driving ability with the ball. The issue may be more how to finish drives when he can't just get a layup or dunk - you see some pull ups, even some bail passes - but it's not 2nd nature to him like it is to say, Ball. On the other hand, Ball throws up a lot of garbage and also many of his passes that he got away with in Australia won't work in the NBA - but that natural skill is there.

I don't know that Williams will get there, but the skillset does appear to be there, just not put together mentally. In that sense, he's kind of like Artest and Jimmy Butler were coming in, but also Tony Snell, James Johnson and Tyrus Thomas. Artest and Butler were crazy-driven. Snell just is missing some sort of natural burning drive / anger - and James Johnson is kind of like that too. Tyrus was reportedly lazy, despite the crazy. Intense, but not with basketball drive.

It's all about what's in the inside. He doesn't come with that sort of burning anger like Artest and Jimmy had - but seems more aggressive (at least on the court) than Snell, though with shades of that lack of confidence. We'll see. I kind of think that Williams actually could have really used another year at the NCAA's to build his skills and confidence/arrogance up. Trial by fire in the NBA may have not been the best route for him at this point.

[MGB8]

If you actually look it up, Patrick Williams had the second-highest usage on the squad (amongst rotation players). But furthermore, 5 of the top 7 rotation guys had usage between 20-22%, so I can see the appeal of this program to team-basketball heads like Artunas and Pop/Buford.

Vassell looks good but he is in NBA guard weight-class, under 200 lb. I really think weight matters at the NBA level; you just don’t know how well guys will retain speed and prevent injuries as they add weight, so SAS might have to be patient with Vassell.

I was high on Vassell - I think his lack of great ball handling was over-criticized. While he lacks strength right now, his frame IMO is similar to Klay Thompson's, or Grant Hill's before Klay. He's no Tayshaun Prince beanpole. That said, the middling FT percentage and the reports of a changed form on his 3s were both red flags.

Still, absent his 3 ball being a complete illusion (which can happen in the NCAAs), I think he's going to be a very good player in the NBA for a long time - better than a lot of people think he is going to be. That said, I was also really high on Culver, and he was g-d awful last season.

[Jcool0]

I went down the Patrick Williams rabbit hole last night watching every video available on YouTube. AK is right. The more you study him the more you like him.

For anyone who is questioning whether or not he can play small forward, watch his high school highlights. He might have the highest ceiling in the draft (except Wiseman). The ball handling talent is there. I don’t understand why he didn’t show it off more at Florida State.

If he can legitimately play as a wing/3, then his size and eventual shooting can make him a very valuable player. If he’s a combo/4, there isn’t much of an opportunity for him to be more than a starting caliber player/Otto Porter type.

His FSU video screams the latter, but perhaps he can keep working on his body to get quicker. Guys tend to do the opposite though as their body matures.

100%

I would love for someone to interview Florida State’s head coach and find out why he wasn’t allowed to create off the dribble and operate the PnR more often.

Pretty simple. He was a young freshman & Florida State was bringing back six players from a team that had won 29 games and made the Sweet 16 the season before. It was about the team not him.

[Red8911]

From looking at Williams highlights one thing that I really liked that stood out to me is his mid range game . He has certain go to moves and his jump shot from those spots are very smooth. Sure everyone wants 3 pointers and maybe he ll get better there too but him being able to hit these shots is a huge plus.

He also has a lot of strength and size. Looks like he uses this to his advantage by attacking the basket, kind of like how Zion does but with less authority. Idk if he will turn into just a solid role player or a star but right now he’s very young with potential so anything is possible. He has the right coaching staff which includes Donovan/ Cheeks and is on the right team to help him grow, it’s all up to him.

[kodo]

I went down the Patrick Williams rabbit hole last night watching every video available on YouTube. AK is right. The more you study him the more you like him.

For anyone who is questioning whether or not he can play small forward, watch his high school highlights. He might have the highest ceiling in the draft (except Wiseman). The ball handling talent is there. I don’t understand why he didn’t show it off more at Florida State.

If he can legitimately play as a wing/3, then his size and eventual shooting can make him a very valuable player. If he’s a combo/4, there isn’t much of an opportunity for him to be more than a starting caliber player/Otto Porter type.

His FSU video screams the latter, but perhaps he can keep working on his body to get quicker. Guys tend to do the opposite though as their body matures.

100%

I would love for someone to interview Florida State’s head coach and find out why he wasn’t allowed to create off the dribble and operate the PnR more often.

Hamilton seems like a very old school coach who doesn't give a crap about "star" players and usage rates. He talks about Havlicek and Sam Jones and winning with 9 guys.

“We look at things like in the NBA when Red Auerbach won all those (Celtics’) championships. Some of his best players were Sam Jones and John Havlicek and they came off the bench.

“You have a lot of teams in the NBA where their best scorers come off the bench. I have to find a way to be different. That’s our system. We win games by committee. We had nine different guys lead our team in scoring last season. And we won the ACC championship. That’s our style. A lot of times we have players come off the bench play more minutes than the guys who start. That’s old school.

Sometimes a very young player's college stats reflect more the coaching style than the player ceilings. KAT at Kentucky averaged 10 ppg and made only two 3 pointers over 38 games. His actual ability was well beyond how Calipari used him to win games. He was a workout late riser who shot up based on showing what he could do away from his team. Donovan Mitchell was also a late riser based on his workouts.

Williams still seems like a longshot, but it's a weak draft. If he turns out better than expected, it wouldn't be the first time a player shows more in an NBA setting than under a college coach.

I think the Williams drafting speaks more to AK not liking what he saw with Deni, Haliburton, etc..

[Jello Biafra]

Did you actually say he needs to loose weight in his quads.....dude you have to be **** me....I swear 2020 has people loosing their minds

Yeah I don’t know how that’s humanly possible to lose weight on your quadriceps without losing pounds all over the body. Unless they meant Pat Will needs surgery because he has thunder thighs.

It's partially a Florida State thing. Their whole program revolves around being more physically developed than their opponent. Although, he looks thick even in some of his HS tape.

Here's a doctor saying the same thing:

Read on Twitter

Rudy Guiliani is that you? Did you hack Suzerain's account with Dr. Charles Atlas?

[Fastbrk4brkfast]

Hey everyone develops at different times and ways. Barnes may or may not be able to be better, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on Williams. We shall see. AK claims there was something Williams can do that he didn’t show in college. The biggest handles problem to fix for Williams is that once he starts to make his shot moves, it appears he isn’t good enough to pass out of it if he runs into trouble. Or good enough to set up someone in a secondary playmaker role. Not that I can recall seeing. The bread and butter plays. AK didnt specify what he was impressed with. The handles AK is likely referring to is stuff like taking the ball off the glass and going down to set up or shoot on the other side. And having the ability to get off his own shot. The problem with that is, he won’t be able to get off his own shot in the NBA once the defense understands they can blitz him without worrying about getting burned. Hopefully he has gained or gotten better at that which he did not show.

Agree with most of this. He's quite good in the open floor. His handle is solid enough there and he makes some impressive passes on the break. He makes accurate passes with some zip on them to either hit his guy in stride or reposition him for a jumper in rhythm. He's more a Bull in a china shop going to the basket. I didn't see him do much drive and kick nor did he ever utilize a eurostep to finish in the lane. The times he did drive and kick he stayed active after making the pass, sometimes crashing the board, sometimes floating back to the outside to get rewarded with an open three. He can add more momentum shifts and better footwork going to the rim but I don't think it will happen right away given the time crunch for the start of the season this year.

[Jax Teller]

Trust the new management, give them the benefit of the doubt looking at this guys draft track record. Second youngest player in the draft, this team is going nowhere next year. Who knows, if this kid went back to college he may have been next years top pick. This isn’t GarPax, let him do his thing and judge this pick and team a few years down the road. The flaws in this team and organization have been deep rooted and extensive, they will not all be fixed in one short and crazy 2020 offseason. Trust to start, baby steps.

[Chi town]

Williams was not who I expected the Bulls to take but I'm glad AK is focusing on raw talent upside versus safe picks. Going to the safe route has not done anything for us in over 8 seasons. Time for a change and lets see how this plays out.

That’s the brilliance of the pick on several levels.

1. PW has a very high floor similar to OG Anunoby coming out. A winning versatile defensive player. I believe this will translate right away.

2. Due to age, base skill set, and frame/athletic profile PW has the highest ceiling in the draft IMO.

3. PW is the prototype for the most important position in the NBA right now. Wing.

4. We do not have one modern NBA wing on our roster. OPJ is a shooter but due to health I don’t see him here past this season and Hutch even if healthy doesn’t have the offensive package to create or playmake. PW fits our greatest need.

I can see an offensive system built on Zach and Coby getting lots of 3s and transition buckets. Lauri as a floor spacing shooter and WCJ as a facilitator and lob threat. If Coby and Zach are legit we need excellent defense, rebounding and IQ from the wing spot. I think PW can be that early. If he can be more than that and eventually initiate offense then we have the foundation for something that can work. I’m not banking on Lauri becoming more than a spot up shooter or WCJ more than a Steven Adam’s type.

As crazy as it sounds, Dotson becomes our 3rd player than can get his own shot off the bounce. I could see him becoming valuable for us. I expect a whole new team outside of Zach Coby and PW after this season.

[Chi town]

Hey everyone develops at different times and ways. Barnes may or may not be able to be better, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on Williams. We shall see. AK claims there was something Williams can do that he didn’t show in college. The biggest handles problem to fix for Williams is that once he starts to make his shot moves, it appears he isn’t good enough to pass out of it if he runs into trouble. Or good enough to set up someone in a secondary playmaker role. Not that I can recall seeing. The bread and butter plays. AK didnt specify what he was impressed with. The handles AK is likely referring to is stuff like taking the ball off the glass and going down to set up or shoot on the other side. And having the ability to get off his own shot. The problem with that is, he won’t be able to get off his own shot in the NBA once the defense understands they can blitz him without worrying about getting burned. Hopefully he has gained or gotten better at that which he did not show.

Agree with most of this. He's quite good in the open floor. His handle is solid enough there and he makes some impressive passes on the break. He makes accurate passes with some zip on them to either hit his guy in stride or reposition him for a jumper in rhythm. He's more a Bull in a china shop going to the basket. I didn't see him do much drive and kick nor did he ever utilize a eurostep to finish in the lane. The times he did drive and kick he stayed active after making the pass, sometimes crashing the board, sometimes floating back to the outside to get rewarded with an open three. He can add more momentum shifts and better footwork going to the rim but I don't think it will happen right away given the time crunch for the start of the season this year.

We will know in a couple weeks in training camp how much he added to his game during lockdown.

[Chi town]

From looking at Williams highlights one thing that I really liked that stood out to me is his mid range game . He has certain go to moves and his jump shot from those spots are very smooth. Sure everyone wants 3 pointers and maybe he ll get better there too but him being able to hit these shots is a huge plus.

He also has a lot of strength and size. Looks like he uses this to his advantage by attacking the basket, kind of like how Zion does but with less authority. Idk if he will turn into just a solid role player or a star but right now he’s very young with potential so anything is possible. He has the right coaching staff which includes Donovan/ Cheeks and is on the right team to help him grow, it’s all up to him.

I think his midrange will translate right away too. He will eventually use his body like Jimmy to create space and his slight fadeaway.

[Indomitable]

I went down the Patrick Williams rabbit hole last night watching every video available on YouTube. AK is right. The more you study him the more you like him.

For anyone who is questioning whether or not he can play small forward, watch his high school highlights. He might have the highest ceiling in the draft (except Wiseman). The ball handling talent is there. I don’t understand why he didn’t show it off more at Florida State.

If he can legitimately play as a wing/3, then his size and eventual shooting can make him a very valuable player. If he’s a combo/4, there isn’t much of an opportunity for him to be more than a starting caliber player/Otto Porter type.

His FSU video screams the latter, but perhaps he can keep working on his body to get quicker. Guys tend to do the opposite though as their body matures.

He moves better then Porter ever did.

[Jcool0]

Read on Twitter

[Chi town]

Hey everyone develops at different times and ways. Barnes may or may not be able to be better, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on Williams. We shall see. AK claims there was something Williams can do that he didn’t show in college. The biggest handles problem to fix for Williams is that once he starts to make his shot moves, it appears he isn’t good enough to pass out of it if he runs into trouble. Or good enough to set up someone in a secondary playmaker role. Not that I can recall seeing. The bread and butter plays. AK didnt specify what he was impressed with. The handles AK is likely referring to is stuff like taking the ball off the glass and going down to set up or shoot on the other side. And having the ability to get off his own shot. The problem with that is, he won’t be able to get off his own shot in the NBA once the defense understands they can blitz him without worrying about getting burned. Hopefully he has gained or gotten better at that which he did not show.

I don't agree. In some of the "flashes" in the youtubes you see some driving ability with the ball. The issue may be more how to finish drives when he can't just get a layup or dunk - you see some pull ups, even some bail passes - but it's not 2nd nature to him like it is to say, Ball. On the other hand, Ball throws up a lot of garbage and also many of his passes that he got away with in Australia won't work in the NBA - but that natural skill is there.

I don't know that Williams will get there, but the skillset does appear to be there, just not put together mentally. In that sense, he's kind of like Artest and Jimmy Butler were coming in, but also Tony Snell, James Johnson and Tyrus Thomas. Artest and Butler were crazy-driven. Snell just is missing some sort of natural burning drive / anger - and James Johnson is kind of like that too. Tyrus was reportedly lazy, despite the crazy. Intense, but not with basketball drive.

It's all about what's in the inside. He doesn't come with that sort of burning anger like Artest and Jimmy had - but seems more aggressive (at least on the court) than Snell, though with shades of that lack of confidence. We'll see. I kind of think that Williams actually could have really used another year at the NCAA's to build his skills and confidence/arrogance up. Trial by fire in the NBA may have not been the best route for him at this point.

PW has mentioned the mental side of the game several times in interviews. No young guys talk about that. This could be really good aka Jimmy and drive seen through his constant improvement in his freshman season at FSU. Hope it’s not the overthinking caring too much trait.

[Chi town]

If you actually look it up, Patrick Williams had the second-highest usage on the squad (amongst rotation players). But furthermore, 5 of the top 7 rotation guys had usage between 20-22%, so I can see the appeal of this program to team-basketball heads like Artunas and Pop/Buford.

Vassell looks good but he is in NBA guard weight-class, under 200 lb. I really think weight matters at the NBA level; you just don’t know how well guys will retain speed and prevent injuries as they add weight, so SAS might have to be patient with Vassell.

Anyway, we can speculate all we want, but fact is Williams is not a secret Ben Simmons. The hope is his NBA body, overall skill-set and high-end defense can put him in the starting lineup within a year.

Can’t wait to watch him D up Ben Simmons! And all the big wings for that matter.

[Chi town]

Read on Twitter

Is that Dinwiddie passing him the ball?

OG defending him?

[MrSparkle]

If he can legitimately play as a wing/3, then his size and eventual shooting can make him a very valuable player. If he’s a combo/4, there isn’t much of an opportunity for him to be more than a starting caliber player/Otto Porter type.

His FSU video screams the latter, but perhaps he can keep working on his body to get quicker. Guys tend to do the opposite though as their body matures.

100%

I would love for someone to interview Florida State’s head coach and find out why he wasn’t allowed to create off the dribble and operate the PnR more often.

Hamilton seems like a very old school coach who doesn't give a crap about "star" players and usage rates. He talks about Havlicek and Sam Jones and winning with 9 guys.

“We look at things like in the NBA when Red Auerbach won all those (Celtics’) championships. Some of his best players were Sam Jones and John Havlicek and they came off the bench.

“You have a lot of teams in the NBA where their best scorers come off the bench. I have to find a way to be different. That’s our system. We win games by committee. We had nine different guys lead our team in scoring last season. And we won the ACC championship. That’s our style. A lot of times we have players come off the bench play more minutes than the guys who start. That’s old school.

Sometimes a very young player's college stats reflect more the coaching style than the player ceilings. KAT at Kentucky averaged 10 ppg and made only two 3 pointers over 38 games. His actual ability was well beyond how Calipari used him to win games. He was a workout late riser who shot up based on showing what he could do away from his team. Donovan Mitchell was also a late riser based on his workouts.

Williams still seems like a longshot, but it's a weak draft. If he turns out better than expected, it wouldn't be the first time a player shows more in an NBA setting than under a college coach.

I think the Williams drafting speaks more to AK not liking what he saw with Deni, Haliburton, etc..

Yep, I think that's what it came down to.

At first glance I liked both, and still do, but with the rare opportunity of drafting top-10, let alone #4... they're not it. Both have great length and vision, but also "stiff" athleticism and joints - I don't see them getting to the basket, and I don't see them creating space for clean jump-shots.

I'm thinking Deng, T. Chandler, or MPJ to double down on what I'm talking about ("upright stiff") - but without MPJ's amazing 6'10 frame and elite handles and contested 3P ability (he's got pretty incredible hands, and the shot is high-release silk). In Hali's case, he has a low-profile shot which is even worse in a defended situation, and as a long guard with good handles, he has the body movement and running gait of a center, which is kind of strange.

Deni and Hali will be solid players, but to boil it down, neither is going to score in a 1-on-1 situation, let alone double-team, which would be only way to really unlock their passing potential.

And the remaining guys at the top of the board, Okongwu, Hayes, Okoro - my vibe is they might pan out to be good, might not. They don't have elite ceilings, so if they do pan out, you don't cry about it. Everyone's high on Okongwu, but I see a 20 mpg center who needs to learn how to shoot. Which we have worse versions WCJ and Gafford, but similarly, if they improve their shots, then their defensive floors make them solid 20 mpg centers.

[Southpaw]

From looking at Williams highlights one thing that I really liked that stood out to me is his mid range game . He has certain go to moves and his jump shot from those spots are very smooth. Sure everyone wants 3 pointers and maybe he ll get better there too but him being able to hit these shots is a huge plus.

His midrange game stood out to me as well. Looks a bit like Kawhi's imo but definitely slower on the release. The mid range is an important weapon late in the clock for go-to scorers so it's good that he has it in his arsenal.

Another thing that I noticed while watching his highlights was, while he's not a jump out the gym explosive athlete, he seems to have enough functional athleticism where he gets to the right spots at the right time even he seems slow doing it.

[VolumePoster]

Read on Twitter

Is that Dinwiddie passing him the ball?

OG defending him?

I think it's dinwiddie, not sure about OG.