Making his first draft pick as the head man in an NBA front office on Wednesday night, new Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas told reporters – including Sam Smith of Bulls.com – that he was pleased to come away with Florida State forward Patrick Williams at No. 4. Karnisovas praised Williams’ athleticism, versatility, ballhandling, and ability to play multiple positions.
“The more we were digging in his background and we were able to see him, that’s how we came to our decision that that’s our guy,” Karnisovas said of Williams. “We need players in our league that can play multiple positions. He’s an elite athlete. At four we were really happy in that position because we knew we had a chance to pick Patrick and we just stayed there and we got our player.”
Williams was one of two picks the Bulls made on Wednesday, along with Montenegrin center Marko Simonovic at No. 44.
“I think overall tonight we drafted players that we were targeting,” Karnisovas said, per Smith. “And it doesn’t happen very often. I received a ton of texts from executives around the league and they were all telling me, ‘Enjoy your night.’ And that’s what I did. It’s special to me. It’s my first night as a lead exec of the Chicago Bulls. I thought it was a very successful night.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Despite rumors that the Bulls had offered Wendell Carter Jr. and the No. 4 pick to move up to No. 2, Karnisovas told reporters after the draft that the club didn’t consider trading up (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). While that may be true, it’s also plausible that Karnisovas is saying that publicly so as not to make waves with Carter.
- Simonovic will be stashed overseas for at least one year, Karnisovas said on Wednesday night (Twitter link via Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic). He’s currently under contract with Crvena Zvezda in Serbia.
- Explaining the Bulls’ decision not to tender qualifying offers to Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison, while Denzel Valentine got one, Karnisovas said that the club’s limited roster space and emphasis on shooting were major factors (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson). The president of basketball operations added that Chicago will be “really picky” in free agency.
With some decent coaching now Donovan is there and no injuries the Bulls should have a decent season. Hopefully the Bulls can make the playoffs for the first time in a while.
I doubt the playoffs are even reachable until 2022/23, and I would think Williams is a definite bust with the old regime, considering they almost ruined Lauri, AK needs time to prove he’s not the old regime and things have changed but I am truly skeptical
Coby, Lavine, Williams, Lauri, and WCJ is a nice young potential starting lineup. They’ve upgraded their coach, and upgraded their front office as well. Bulls are on the right track and it’s nice to see.
Yes. Them and the Pelicans are 2 young lineups that should be fun to watch this year. No cross your fingers for some Health! Too many injuries lately. Not fair
I quite liked the Kings too, but won’t be long until they screw it up in free agency
Still need a PG. It’s a good thing Karnisova reached out to Devon Dotson… it was a PG draft, he could be good.
Williams is a good pick from the standpoint of the being the Otto Porter they wanted to have gotten in the first place.