NBA insider thinks Chicago Bulls’ failed experiment could start again

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The Chicago Bulls are off to a really good start despite missing Coby White and having a pretty tough schedule. Everything is working pretty well, but there’s always room for improvement. According to Bleacher Report insider Grant Hughes, that could be in the starting lineup. Isaac Okoro was the marquee addition this offseason, but Patrick Williams is the high-paid player.

“When everybody’s healthy, the Chicago Bulls should have four of the five starting spots locked down. Ayo Dosunmu will get looks until Coby White recovers from a calf injury, but Josh Giddey, Nikola Vučević and Matas Buzelis are written down in ink,” Hughes wrote. “That leaves Isaac Okoro as a potentially vulnerable piece, though his three-and-D game has value on a Bulls roster that needs both from its wings.”

Hughes believes the astonishing $90 million contract, signed just last summer, means that the Bulls believe in him. 2024-25 might’ve changed that, but they did at least at one time view him as a crucial part of the future. He’s bigger than Okoro and has shot 39.1% or better from three every year except last. That might allow the Bulls to put him next to Matas Buzelis for a “more imposing” combination in the frontcourt.

“Williams has mostly been a disappointment in Chicago, but he’s only 24 and might have more to offer than Okoro—particularly if the former Cavalier can’t knock down shots,” Hughes concluded. It would be a surprise to see Williams getting a starting role after everything, but the Bulls do have a lot invested in him. He’s also still young and theoretically can improve.

Given the lack of wing depth and Okoro’s shaky spot in the starting five, it isn’t absurd to think Williams may start.