Bulls Expected To Lose Patrick Williams For Season

Bulls power forward Patrick Williams is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a dislocated left wrist, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Update: The Bulls officially announced that Williams will “undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist” and will miss about four-to-six months.

Williams, 20, is 6-foot-7 and is averaging 6.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in five games. He has started all five.

The injury will require surgery, Wojnarowski noted. 

Williams suffered the injury during the Bulls’ 104-103 loss to the Knicks, Chicago’s first loss of the season. Bulls coach Billy Donovan described it to reporters as a “pretty significant injury.”

Wojnarowski reported the exact injury as a “perilunate dislocation.” He added that there’s “hope” Williams could return for the playoffs should the Bulls get that far.

Williams was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 draft. He averaged 9.2 points and 6.4 boards in 71 games last season, starting in each.

As NBA.com noted, Williams had seen “his offensive opportunities diminish and efficiency skyrocket in his second season for the resurgent Bulls. Chicago entered the game with the team’s first 4-0 start to a season since the 1996-97 campaign.”

The Bulls added guards Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan during the offseason, but traded Lauri Markkanen to the Cavaliers. Markkanen would’ve been a natural replacement for Williams.

His injury may mean an increase in minutes for forward Troy Brown Jr., and perhaps offseason acquisition Derrick Jones Jr. 

Also, per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Bulls very well could slide guard Javonte Green into the starting lineup.

“Green started three Bulls preseason games, and was already drawing consideration from Chicago staffers before Williams went down,” Fischer wrote.

There is also the possibility that Chicago picks up a veteran off the list of available free agents. 

The Bulls are set to host the Jazz on Saturday.