The Chicago Bulls announced that small forward Patrick Williams has been diagnosed with acute bone edema in his left foot.
Williams will begin a period of active rest and be re-assessed in approximately two weeks.
Williams has appeared in 43 games this season. He’s averaging 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks while shooting 44.3% from the field, 39.9% from beyond the arc and 78.8% from the free-throw line.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls Updates
“It was just gradual. It’s been awhile,” Williams said about his injury, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I’ve been trying to do maintenance on it, do pregame work on it, postgame work on it. That Laker game kind of hit the peak for me.”
The Bulls are 22-25. They are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. If the season ended today, Chicago would be in the play-in tournament for the second year in a row.
Williams was the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Florida State. He has career averages of 9.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks with the Bulls.
“You always want to take caution. It’s one of those situations where the benefit of it, whether I needed it or not, kind of outweighed the look of it,” Williams said. “Naturally, I’d consider, ‘Hell no.’ I know what it looks like to wear a boot. You never want to just have to wear one of those. But they spoke to me about the benefit of wearing it and kind of de-loading it for a couple days.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Patrick Williams, Chicago Bulls Updates
Williams becomes a restricted free agent this summer once the Bulls offer him a $12.9 million qualifying offer. As a restricted free agent, Williams can either re-sign with the Bulls or sign an offer sheet with another team. Chicago can match any offer sheet Williams signs within 48 hours.
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