Should the Chicago Bulls leverage Patrick Williams' potential for some win-now help

This could be a high-risk, high-reward situation for the Bulls.

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The Chicago Bulls continue to straddle the line between going all-in to win big this season and building for the future. Patrick Williams, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has a tremendous amount of potential that could be leveraged to acquire help in the short term.

This is an interesting conundrum for the Bulls as they decide between waiting on Williams to fully realize what he can do in the NBA or packaging him with other assets to get some win-now help.

What’s the play here?

While fans and experts called for the Bulls to push the reset button on this team’s core, the Bulls’ decision-makers went the other way, doubling down on the “Big 3” of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. While the additions of quality role players like Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig may pay dividends, it still feels like the team, as currently constructed, doesn’t have enough to move the needle in the Eastern Conference.

“The Bulls have made several significant commitments to this core, but they've stopped short of going all-in on the present,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley wrote.

“If you don't envision a high ceiling for the Zach LaVine-DeMar DeRozan-Nikola Vucevic trio, then maybe that's the right move to make. But if Chicago isn't trying to win as big as possible, then what is the end game exactly?”

Patrick Williams days away from game 1 of the regular season 😤😤😤#BullsNation pic.twitter.com/luLxkcTgsO

— Bulls Nation (@BullNationCHI) September 11, 2023

Get help now

The Bulls have talent, for sure. But ever since starting point guard Lonzo Ball went down, what they’ve lacked is that straw that stirs the drink. So, if the Bulls want to show management they made the right call in committing to their present core, they must find a way to compete in the Eastern Conference.

“If the Bulls want to give this group the best possible odds of competing, then they have to explore what Patrick Williams' potential would bring back on the trade market. He has had a solid start to his career, but moments of special play have been few and far between for the 2020 draft's No. 4 pick,” Buckley said of Williams.

“If teams out there still envision the 22-year-old as Kawhi Leonard 2.0, then he might anchor the kind of offer that could fetch an impact player who could dramatically change this franchise's fortune.”