'I’ve Seen Growth in Patrick,' Billy Donovan Believes in Williams' Development

Michael Walton II

Oct 13, 2025, 23:17

Michael Walton II

Oct 13, 2025, 23:17

Updated at: Oct 13, 2025, 23:17

Billy Donovan knows that with a roster full of young talent, player development has to be at the forefront of everything. The Chicago Bulls look to be headed down the right path in terms of player development, with second-year forward Matas Buzelis looking like a surefire breakout candidate with his impressive preseason so far. But the Bulls have another former lottery pick who has a chance to have a "breakout season," at least by current expectations, and that is Patrick Williams. Following the Bulls 127-121 loss to the Bucks on Sunday night, Donovan stated postgame, "I've seen growth in Patrick." This statement came on the heels of Williams collecting 10 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists (4 turnovers), and a steal in Sunday night's loss.

"What we're basically talking about is consistency, right?"

Donovan noted how consistent play would be a major factor in Williams playing steady minutes regardless of his role. But his belief in the forward remains strong. Williams' play in the Bulls six-point loss to Milwaukee stood out to the Bulls newly Hall of Fame inducted head coach.

" I thought Patrick was aggressive, he did some good things with a couple careless passes I know he would've liked to have back. I thought he was aggressive going to the basket and trying to finish, he was a good matchup at times against Giannis [Antetokounmpo], I felt like he tried to go to the glass, right? So to me as a coach when you sit there working with these guys, certainly you try to help them with their skillset but as K.C. [Johnson] and I were talking before the game, the skillset is purely based on the fact of making split second decisions and reads on what's going on in a game, but there are things that he can control in my opinion on every possession, like he can get to the glass, he can get out in transition...he can do that."

While Williams is unlikely to ever approach the heights that many expected with the early career Kawhi Leonard comparisons, he is still young enough to improve on a career that has already seen him fit nicely into the valued 3-and-D archetype.

It is fair to expect more of Williams, but to do that, you must first understand what he already brings to the table. Williams, even with his reported slimming down, is the Bulls best option when it comes to guarding strong forwards like Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James. This isn't a matter of opinion, as all of the other players on the Bulls are for now, simply to small weight wise or don't have the foot speed to matchup with these specific type of forwards. Chicago will likely use the newly acquired Isaac Okoro, or lanky Buzelis on these type of players as well, but Williams' presence on the floor does simplify things a bit for Donovan in terms of matchups.

A big issue for the Bulls is that Williams has been a below average rebonder for much of his career, despite having a frame that would indicate a player who can excel in this area of the game. On Sunday night, Williams collected eight rebounds, all of them coming on the defensive glass. This isn't an issue, as offensively, he will be spending most of his time spotting up from 3-point range or cutting for high percentage shots that don't lead to offensive rebound opportunities.

Chicago was fifth in Defensive Rebound Rate in 2025, and Williams becoming a solid contributor in that department would give the Bulls a chance to be perhaps the best team in the NBA at cleaning the glass on defense. Being the best defensive rebounding team in the league would go a long way towards improving a team that is looking to break free from the NBA Play-In.

Donovan stated, "he was around the basket offensively, he was on the glass defensively, he was guarding, he did a good job, I thought the threes that he took that were there, he took 'em. So I thought he did a really good job tonight and the thing you wanna do is try to stack games together. I’ve always said the best players in this league, if you take ten game increments, there’s like one game out of ten they don’t play well. Ya know? And that’s...when you’re looking at players that’s what their role is striving to be is the more consistent part of it. And that’s what we’re working with Patrick on. And so like as it relates to his rotation, his minutes, things like that, a lot of it is going to be how consistent he’s playing in the game."

Williams four turnovers were perhaps a case of doing too much, but you want him getting these type of mistakes out of the way in the preseason. Even more so when you consider that he is operating without the top offensive option on the team playing in Coby White.

On Sunday evening, Williams showcased the ability to make quick decisions when passing sans White and Kevin Huerter. When those two elite 3-point shooters return to the rotation, Williams' snappy decision-making could lead to a career-high in assists. In 2025, Williams posted career-highs in usage rate, assist rate, and 3-point attempt rate, and there is no reason to expect a drop in any of those categories with Zach LaVine off the team, and no high-usage additions to the roster.

The Bulls can become good team without Williams stepping up, but there is little-to-no chance this roster can be "great," without a big step forward in execution on both ends of the floor from Patrick Williams.

'I’ve Seen Growth in Patrick,' Billy Donovan Believes in Williams' Development