East Notes: Bulls, Patrick Williams, Cavs, Donovan Mitchell, Pistons

Bulls

It’s time for the Bulls and forward Patrick Williams to part ways, given that neither has really maximized the relationship, wrote Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

“Williams isn’t likely to ever live up to his selection as the fourth pick by the Bulls in 2020,” Mayberry wrote. “In Chicago, that decision always will hang over him. Here, he’ll be seen as and expected to produce like a top-five pick. But time is proving he’s much closer to a role player than a featured player.”

• The Bulls, of course, have been haunted by average play and trade rumors. Not surprisingly, other teams are said to be monitoring their situation, as we relayed here.

Cavaliers

Guard Donovan Mitchell explained why he shoved Draymond Green during the Cavs’ win over the Warriors on Saturday, an incident that led to Green’s second technical and eventual ejection.

“He pushed me, so I pushed him back. I don’t push people for no reason,” Mitchell said, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Couldn’t let that go without nothing being done. I was like, ‘I got hit, so I’m getting mine back.’”

• The Cavs’ season sweep of the Warriors was the first since 2010. I have dribbles on that game (the one from this season, not 2010) right here.
• Next up for Cleveland: A visit to Sacramento to again face former coach Mike Brown. I have lots of pregame dribbles on that one here.

Pistons

Former first-round pick Kevin Knox just signed with the Pistons last week and has already led them in scoring, finishing with 18 points in Sunday’s loss to the Bulls. Knocks went 7-of-8 shooting, too.

“I can shoot the ball really well, my versatility stands out, but the biggest thing is just competing on defense, being able to guard multiple positions,’ Knox told reporters. “Then offense, just trying to figure out what I can do to help the team

“A lot of guys are out, injured guys that can shoot the ball and that’s what they kind of need me to do.”

• The Pistons have now lost eight straight. “We got to be able to hold everyone accountable, myself included, I got to hold myself to a certain standard,” point guard Jaden Ivey said. “Everybody in this locker room holds themselves to a certain standard because we all feel like we bring winning to the table.”