The Chicago Bulls select forward Patrick Williams #4 overall.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Lack of confidence? Am I watching the same player lol? Lauri, is a player who lacks confidence.

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Yeah he's been getting his in the flow of the offense, but I don't see someone whose scared. Wouldn't describe him as lacking confidence, in comparison to a Tony Snell or Markkanen as you said.

I never said he was playing scared. He actually looks like he’s picking up the pace of the NBA quickly. He’s already proven he has the quickness to stay in front of point guards with elite speed (Wall). His mid-range game looks solid and he’s been efficient from 3 (50% 1/2). Patrick Williams certainly has erased a lot of concerns that people labeled him to have had, in this limited sample size.

I’m talking about his mentality on the court and off the court. He definitely plays within the offensive scheme, but is more hesitant in ISO situations. Coby White is trying to will that confidence into him.

Just an example, watch the on court presence of James Harden in college:

Watch on YouTube

There is a level of on court confidence that he has, that Patrick Williams has yet to showcase. His demeanor definitely differs from some of the elite talents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be elite. I’d like to see him be a little more aggressive to finish out the preseason.

I see what you're saying actually.

P Will strikes me as a guy who's still learning his game (like rookie Kawhi) as opposed to a Harden or Tatum who had identities from day 1. That's no insult. In the parlance of The Wire, he's a puppy with big paws.

It wouldn't surprise me if we were looking at a 2 or 3-year runway for his offensive role to take shape. In the meantime, he's gonna look tentative for stretches.

[Jcool0]

Yeah he's been getting his in the flow of the offense, but I don't see someone whose scared. Wouldn't describe him as lacking confidence, in comparison to a Tony Snell or Markkanen as you said.

I never said he was playing scared. He actually looks like he’s picking up the pace of the NBA quickly. He’s already proven he has the quickness to stay in front of point guards with elite speed (Wall). His mid-range game looks solid and he’s been efficient from 3 (50% 1/2). Patrick Williams certainly has erased a lot of concerns that people labeled him to have had, in this limited sample size.

I’m talking about his mentality on the court and off the court. He definitely plays within the offensive scheme, but is more hesitant in ISO situations. Coby White is trying to will that confidence into him.

Just an example, watch the on court presence of James Harden in college:

Watch on YouTube

There is a level of on court confidence that he has, that Patrick Williams has yet to showcase. His demeanor definitely differs from some of the elite talents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be elite. I’d like to see him be a little more aggressive to finish out the preseason.

I see what you're saying actually.

P Will strikes me as a guy who's still learning his game (like rookie Kawhi) as opposed to a Harden or Tatum who had identities from day 1. That's no insult. In the parlance of The Wire, he's a puppy with big paws.

It wouldn't surprise me if we were looking at a 2 or 3-year runway for his offensive role to take shape. In the meantime, he's gonna look tentative for stretches.

Not sure Harden had his identity day 1. If Coby was averaging what Harden did in years 1 and 2 people would be calling him a bust. Harden didn't start showing what he could really do consistently in the NBA till year 3 when he won Sixth Man.

[kodo]

Guys like Harden & Kyrie were balling at a high level as children, and already leaders. Williams is absolutely not that path, he's not even a starter on his college team. He's clearly more of a late bloomer like Kawhi, who was only ranked 48th as a HS prospect or Paul George, who had to go to Fresno State because he wasn't promised any time or role by better colleges.

Paul George still doesn't have the confidence of the top NBA guys, and maybe Williams never will either even if he's very talented. But that's generally still a good outcome for #4 in a bad draft.

[transplant]

I slammed folks for overreacting to a few preseason games in another thread, so I'll welcome all "Hypocrite!" criticisms here.

In 3 preseason games, Patrick Williams has shown me that AKME weren't really reaching by taking him with the 4th pick. Being very conservative by nature, I surprise myself by admitting this. He's 19 years old and Williams is not the least bit afraid on the NBA stage. He has a game that can contribute to winning in lots of ways. With most young players, I'm asking myself what he might be able to do for the team. With Williams, I'm wondering what he can't do.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

I never said he was playing scared. He actually looks like he’s picking up the pace of the NBA quickly. He’s already proven he has the quickness to stay in front of point guards with elite speed (Wall). His mid-range game looks solid and he’s been efficient from 3 (50% 1/2). Patrick Williams certainly has erased a lot of concerns that people labeled him to have had, in this limited sample size.

I’m talking about his mentality on the court and off the court. He definitely plays within the offensive scheme, but is more hesitant in ISO situations. Coby White is trying to will that confidence into him.

Just an example, watch the on court presence of James Harden in college:

Watch on YouTube

There is a level of on court confidence that he has, that Patrick Williams has yet to showcase. His demeanor definitely differs from some of the elite talents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be elite. I’d like to see him be a little more aggressive to finish out the preseason.

I see what you're saying actually.

P Will strikes me as a guy who's still learning his game (like rookie Kawhi) as opposed to a Harden or Tatum who had identities from day 1. That's no insult. In the parlance of The Wire, he's a puppy with big paws.

It wouldn't surprise me if we were looking at a 2 or 3-year runway for his offensive role to take shape. In the meantime, he's gonna look tentative for stretches.

Not sure Harden had his identity day 1. If Coby was averaging what Harden did in years 1 and 2 people would be calling him a bust. Harden didn't start showing what he could really do consistently in the NBA till year 3 when he won Sixth Man.

Harden had a better rookie year than Coby; he just didn't have Coby's usage on a playoff-bound team with two established creators.

Which isn't it to say he was killing it out of the gate or that anyone knew he'd become *this* good. But his potential to drive an offense with iso scoring and distribution was known early on because he'd done it at Arizona State.

[ZOMG]

I slammed folks for overreacting to a few preseason games in another thread, so I'll welcome all "Hypocrite!" criticisms here.

In 3 preseason games, Patrick Williams has shown me that AKME weren't really reaching by taking him with the 4th pick. Being very conservative by nature, I surprise myself by admitting this. He's 19 years old and Williams is not the least bit afraid on the NBA stage. He has a game that can contribute to winning in lots of ways. With most young players, I'm asking myself what he might be able to do for the team. With Williams, I'm wondering what he can't do.

Again, I like PWill... but that doesn't make him special. The Bulls have been picking teenaged one-and-dones for years now. I wouldn't say Lauri, Wendell or Coby were afraid of the big stage either. All of them came in ready to contribute, in their own ways. Some were more succesful than others.

It's just preseason. We'll see how Patrick does when teams get real.

[transplant]

I slammed folks for overreacting to a few preseason games in another thread, so I'll welcome all "Hypocrite!" criticisms here.

In 3 preseason games, Patrick Williams has shown me that AKME weren't really reaching by taking him with the 4th pick. Being very conservative by nature, I surprise myself by admitting this. He's 19 years old and Williams is not the least bit afraid on the NBA stage. He has a game that can contribute to winning in lots of ways. With most young players, I'm asking myself what he might be able to do for the team. With Williams, I'm wondering what he can't do.

Again, I like PWill... but that doesn't make him special. The Bulls have been picking teenaged one-and-dones for years now. I wouldn't say Lauri, Wendell or Coby were afraid of the big stage either. All of them came in ready to contribute, in their own ways. Some were more succesful than others.

It's just preseason. We'll see how Patrick does when teams get real.

I'll agree as regards Coby. In fact, I remember writing that he wasn't afraid. Lauri was comfortable from the outside in offensively, but struggled elsewhere. Wendell was comfortable from the inside out defensively, but struggled elsewhere. Williams seems remarkably comfortable in all phases.

[dougthonus]

I'll agree as regards Coby. In fact, I remember writing that he wasn't afraid. Lauri was comfortable from the outside in offensively, but struggled elsewhere. Wendell was comfortable from the inside out defensively, but struggled elsewhere. Williams seems remarkably comfortable in all phases.

His offense has actually been extremely inefficient if you ignore his absolute garbage time buckets against the Rockets when he was on the floor in the fourth against their gleague roster where he was 3/3 in a night he was 4/11 overall. He's turned the ball over on 25% of his possessions which is pretty awful, especially given he's a low possession guy. He's only got two assists on the season so far, and generally looks like a black hole with the ball in his hands and a pretty slow decision maker to me.

On defense, he's been a weird mixed bag, at times looking very passive, at times looking absolutely dominant, and at times overreacting. I think he looks pretty good there for a rookie though, and I'm confident he'll be good there with more seasoning.

Nothing to worry about to me overall with Williams. Under the circumstances, I think he's had a solid presesaon and shown some signs of a lot of things, but I don't see much reason to get too excited yet either.

People have taken Williams passive, lack of emotionality on the court, and then assumed he has some underlying genius because of it though. You hear things like lack of worry, confident, aware, etc, etc, about him, because he isn't showing much, people are filling in those gaps with whatever they want.

[DuckIII]

We can analyze Williams to death, but I won’t. Too early. At this stage I’m just eye testing rookies. Williams is the first rookie we have drafted since Rose who “pops” off the screen.

Coby, Lauri, Wendell, whomever, all to various degrees had things to like about them early, and with the exception of Lauri I remain optimistic still that they have valuable roles to play for the Bulls and are nice pieces. But none of them left me thinking “wow, this guy might be exceptional.” Williams has provided some of that, in what I look for in rookies this early. That’s all I care about for now.

P.S. I don’t see a passive player when I watch him. And the Rose reference was not a comparison.

[ZOMG]

I'll agree as regards Coby. In fact, I remember writing that he wasn't afraid. Lauri was comfortable from the outside in offensively, but struggled elsewhere. Wendell was comfortable from the inside out defensively, but struggled elsewhere. Williams seems remarkably comfortable in all phases.

His offense has actually been extremely inefficient if you ignore his absolute garbage time buckets against the Rockets when he was on the floor in the fourth against their gleague roster where he was 3/3 in a night he was 4/11 overall. He's turned the ball over on 25% of his possessions which is pretty awful, especially given he's a low possession guy. He's only got two assists on the season so far, and generally looks like a black hole with the ball in his hands and a pretty slow decision maker to me.

On defense, he's been a weird mixed bag, at times looking very passive, at times looking absolutely dominant, and at times overreacting. I think he looks pretty good there for a rookie though, and I'm confident he'll be good there with more seasoning.

Nothing to worry about to me overall with Williams. Under the circumstances, I think he's had a solid presesaon and shown some signs of a lot of things, but I don't see much reason to get too excited yet either.

People have taken Williams passive, lack of emotionality on the court, and then assumed he has some underlying genius because of it though. You hear things like lack of worry, confident, aware, etc, etc, about him, because he isn't showing much, people are filling in those gaps with whatever they want.

This.

[MrFortune3]

I'll agree as regards Coby. In fact, I remember writing that he wasn't afraid. Lauri was comfortable from the outside in offensively, but struggled elsewhere. Wendell was comfortable from the inside out defensively, but struggled elsewhere. Williams seems remarkably comfortable in all phases.

His offense has actually been extremely inefficient if you ignore his absolute garbage time buckets against the Rockets when he was on the floor in the fourth against their gleague roster where he was 3/3 in a night he was 4/11 overall. He's turned the ball over on 25% of his possessions which is pretty awful, especially given he's a low possession guy. He's only got two assists on the season so far, and generally looks like a black hole with the ball in his hands and a pretty slow decision maker to me.

On defense, he's been a weird mixed bag, at times looking very passive, at times looking absolutely dominant, and at times overreacting. I think he looks pretty good there for a rookie though, and I'm confident he'll be good there with more seasoning.

Nothing to worry about to me overall with Williams. Under the circumstances, I think he's had a solid presesaon and shown some signs of a lot of things, but I don't see much reason to get too excited yet either.

People have taken Williams passive, lack of emotionality on the court, and then assumed he has some underlying genius because of it though. You hear things like lack of worry, confident, aware, etc, etc, about him, because he isn't showing much, people are filling in those gaps with whatever they want.

People always fill in the gaps with whatever they want. It's always a "yeah but" with fans.

[cjbulls]

Just 4 preseason games, but I found his scouting reports/youtube vids to be largely as advertised here.

His shot is a little better than expected. He looks very confident and smooth in the mid range. His three looks a little slower or with a hitch for some reason, but it could just be the tv angle or something. I am fully confident he will at least be a league average shooter with an opportunity for more. He also shot really well in that 10 foot range around the basket. If I had to guess, something like 7/10 in the preseason. This is an underrated skill to have good touch in that range, so let's see if that sticks in the regular season.

But his handles/attacking are worse than expected. He is looking more like a 4 out there and even then, Lauri is better at attacking off the dribble than Pat, including rookie Lauri as a comparison. The big talk was that he played point guard in high school, but he shows no signs whatsoever. He had one good pass all preseason. Right now he just catches it, looks for his shot and then passes it back out. I also don't think I saw a single backcut from him. That would seem to be a great way for him to get buckets, particularly with his strength, leaping ability and touch around the basket.

I think my same concerns remain about his ceiling. If he doesn't learn how to attack and/or score off the dribble, then he maxes out in the Deng/Otto range. They are good players, but clearly not stars. The majority of his shots this preseason were semi-contested mid range jumpers which no one should think is a good offensive strategy. Obviously there is time, but I don't see many guys get materially quicker after they reach the NBA so I'm not sure how it's going to happen. My guess is he gets bigger and that slows him down and he becomes more of a full-time 4 than a 3

[sco]

He needs to learn a lot to be anything more than an average starting guy...like most guys his success will depend hard work and experience over next couple years.

[aramada]

If he produces at this level in the first weeks of the season, Williams will be one Zach LaVine away from netting us James Harden in a trade package

[MrSparkle]

We can analyze Williams to death, but I won’t. Too early. At this stage I’m just eye testing rookies. Williams is the first rookie we have drafted since Rose who “pops” off the screen.

Coby, Lauri, Wendell, whomever, all to various degrees had things to like about them early, and with the exception of Lauri I remain optimistic still that they have valuable roles to play for the Bulls and are nice pieces. But none of them left me thinking “wow, this guy might be exceptional.” Williams has provided some of that, in what I look for in rookies this early. That’s all I care about for now.

P.S. I don’t see a passive player when I watch him. And the Rose reference was not a comparison.

Well said. Obviously needs a lot of development to become a star, but he has 3 traits that I'm excited about. For one thing, he just doesn't have defensive lapses. Always in the right place at the right time. But also, he can palm the ball, and has a feather-light shooting touch. And with his athleticism and strength, he has prototypical superstar size; 230 lb. & 6'8+ like Lebron, Durant, Kawhi. Plus any 19yo rookie who can start for an NBA team after a 1w training camp and look like a top-3 most reliable player certainly passed the first check-point with flying colors.

Granted I did feel the same way about Deng when he came into the NBA, but Luol's development meandered after his rookie year. His mid-range shot never looked as good after the broken wrist, his body didn't respond well to adding weight (slowed down and lost lift), and of course he never improved his ball-handling. To shut down the Lu comparison, PW already handles the rock better, already has the weight with quickness, and already shoots the 3P.

[Clocian]

Watch on YouTube

Its gonna be fun watching him develop

[fleet]

^^^^He’s a puppy with big paws!

[sco]

Watch on YouTube

Its gonna be fun watching him develop

In watching his jumper, it's interesting. He jumps both straight up...even when he has a head of steam. The height of his jump, which slows his release, which is a negative, also gives him time to look at the basket to improve accuracy.

[DJhitek]

I think his defense off the ball has been pretty good honestly, everything else is sorta been ok. Don’t like his feel on offense yet but it’s been three preseason games.

[Clocian]

Watch on YouTube

Great regular season debut by our rookie.