Former Seminole and current Chicago Bull Patrick Williams is out for the season after imaging revealed a stress fracture in his foot that will require surgery, the Bulls announced on Friday. He hadn't played since January 25th with what had been described as "bone edema" in his left foot, which is when fluid builds up in the bone marrow.
This is now the second serious injury Williams has had, after dislocating his wrist and tearing ligaments in his second season and missing 65 games. As he's set to enter free agency this summer, this will likely bring his value down as he tries to find a new contract. He and the Bulls could not come to an agreement this past summer where he was reportedly looking for a big contract.
Still just 22 years old, there is a lot to like about Williams. He's a solid defender with great size and athleticism, but it is fair to wonder if Chicago was the best situation for him to develop his skills with Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan taking the majority of shots. For his career, he's pretty much been 10 points and 4 rebounds per game every season, but he shoots 40% from 3 on 3.4 3PA per game. Out of a possible 328 regular season games, he'll have played in just 213 if he does miss the rest of the season, as expected. That'll be a concern for whoever wants to taker a chance on him this offseason.
Patrick Williams spent the 2019-20 season at Florida State, where he averaged 9.2 PPG and 4.0 RPG on his way to being named ACC 6th Man of the Year as a freshman. Teams could see the potential in him and due to a prolonged scouting process due to COVID-19, he was able to make a big impression on teams in interviews, which boosted his draft stock up. By the time the 2020 NBA Draft rolled around, Chicago had fallen in love with him and selected him with the 4th overall pick, becoming FSU's first lottery selection since Jonathan Isaac in 2017.
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