The Chicago Bulls made some solid additions this summer, but they were apparently close to making another. During a recent appearance on “The Old Man & The Three with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter,” Grant Williams revealed that he had “serious” contract talks with the Bulls before his sign-and-trade to the Dallas Mavericks. (H/t Daniel Greenberg)
In the end, Williams joined the Mavericks via a sign-and-trade facilitated by the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs. Dallas received Williams, the Celtics received second-round picks, and San Antonio got Reggie Bullock. But before all that, Williams spoke with multiple teams in free agency, and Chicago was one of them.
Williams would have been a great fit in Chicago due to his defensive abilities and three-point shooting, as the Bulls entered the offseason in desperate need of shooting. They were one of the worst shooting teams in the league this past season.
For the Celtics last year, Williams appeared in 79 games, starting 23 of them, and played a career-high 25.9 minutes per contest. He averaged 8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 45.5% from the field and 39.5% from behind the three-point line.
Chicago didn’t have a ton of cap space this summer, so the Bulls would have had to make a sign-and-trade to land Williams at the contract he ended up signing for. There’s a chance they were in talks to sign him for less, but Williams was never going to sign for the minimum.
Do you think the Bulls should have signed Williams this summer?
