As the trade deadline approaches, most of the talk surrounding the Chicago Bulls has been about what potential moves they could make, and rightfully so. They’ve been a middle-of-the-pack team for two years now, and they don’t seem like they have a real direction moving forward.
However, after an ugly start to the season made it look like the Bulls were destined for a top-10 pick, they’ve pushed their way back up into the Play-In picture. Unfortunately, they’ve dealt with a ton of injuries this year. Zach LaVine has missed significant time, Nikola Vucevic missed some games, and a bunch of their depth pieces have been out for stretches as well.
Patrick Williams is the latest of the bunch. He missed the Bulls’ recent game against the Portland Trail Blazers and was seen wearing a walking boot after playing with pain in his left foot for weeks. The young forward provided an update on the situation via Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune.
“It’s one of those situations where the benefit of [the walking boot], whether I needed it or not, kind of outweighed the look of it,” Williams said. “Naturally, I said, ‘Hell no.’ I know what it looks like to wear a boot. You never want to just have to wear one of those. But they spoke to me about the benefit of wearing it and kind of deloading it for a couple days.”
Patrick Williams is out tonight and wearing a walking boot on his left foot.
This is different from the right ankle strain that sidelined him for three games earlier this year.
Pat was not keen on the boot: “Naturally I said hell no. I know what it looks like.” pic.twitter.com/KCa7WdNlXr
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) January 29, 2024
Williams has been having a solid season, averaging 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 44.3% from the field and 39.9% from behind the three-point line.