It was a timely question with a somewhat vague answer.
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas was asked last week about what it would look like to have some of his new young pieces on the floor together next season.
“I won’t know exactly what to expect next year, but I know those guys are going to be on the floor and they’re very versatile,” Karnisovas said, referring to Josh Giddey and first-round pick Matas Buzelis. “Once we know after a couple weeks what we look like, we can talk organizationally and how we’re going to play with Billy (Donovan).”
It might not take a “couple weeks” after all.
The night before teams could start talking to free agents, a report was confirmed that the Bulls also intend to keep 22-year-old Patrick Williams in the youth movement, agreeing to extend the forward with a five-year, $90-million deal.
Not that anyone was surprised by this with the Sun-Times reporting last week that the organization had Williams as their top priority once the free-agent frenzy was set to begin.
The former No. 4 overall pick from the 2020 draft was putting together another solid, albeit inconsistent 2023-24 season, before having to be shut down after 43 games to have foot surgery. But even with the injury the Bulls still believe in a three-and-D wing, who has emerged as not only one of their better defenders, but also a career 41% shooter from three-point range.
Because Williams was restricted, the Bulls could have matched any offer that came his way, but much like they did with Coby White at this time last season, they didn’t want to become victims of the market and wanted to move forward with Williams in the mix.
The next big question that needs answering is what to do with free agent DeMar DeRozan, as well as the ongoing trade talks to try and move Zach LaVine.