Bulls forward Patrick Williams will undergo surgery on his injured left foot and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season, the team announced on Friday in a press release.
According to the Bulls, Williams was initially diagnosed with bone edema, but recent imaging revealed a “progression of his foot stress reaction.” He last played on Jan. 25.
The No. 4 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Williams has had an up-and-down four seasons with Chicago, showcasing tantalizing two-way upside at times mixed in with plenty of inconsistency. Part of that has been due to injuries — while he played 71 games as a rookie and all 82 games in 2022-23, he was limited to just 17 games in 2021-22 due to a wrist injury and only made 43 appearances this season due to foot and ankle issues.
Overall, the 22-year-old averaged 10.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .443/.399/.788 shooting in 43 games (27.3 MPG) in 2023-24, including 30 starts.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports, Williams will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Bulls give him a $12,973,527 qualifying offer.
With Williams and Torrey Craig (right knee sprain) both sidelined, the Bulls have been running smaller lineups, with a starting lineup of Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic. Rookie Julian Phillips and second-year wing Dalen Terry also received rotation minutes in Thursday’s loss vs. Boston.
Williams is Chicago’s second opening-night starter to go down with season-ending foot surgery, joining two-time All-Star Zach LaVine. The Bulls are currently 26-30, the No. 9 seed in the East.
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