Raptors Rumors: Toronto Linked to 3-point Shooting Lottery Pick In Free Agency
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report suggests that the Raptors "will swoop in with an offer sheet competitive enough to pry away the so-far underwhelming forward" from the Chicago Bulls.
As a former No. 4 overall pick in the NBA Draft (2020), and still young, heading into his age-23 season, Patrick Williams can provide some impressive three-point shooting as a big man who can also defend a number of positions—IF he can stay on the court.
The 6'7" forward can play the three or the four, and has shot 41% from beyond the arc in his four seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors would have to hope, however, that Williams isn't just a younger version of Otto Porter Jr., the three-point shooting big that they signed two years ago only to see him wind up spending most of those two seasons on the injured list.
Williams has spent two of his four NBA seasons largely unavailable with a couple of serious injuries. He played just 43 games with the Bulls this past season after undergoing surgery on his foot, and missed most of his sophomore campaign in 2021-22 due a fractured left wrist that also required surgery.
The thinking is that while the Bulls are busy trying to match their top free agent DeMar DeRozan's demands with some big-time coin, Williams could slip through the cracks if the Raptors can come up with a reasonable offer sheet.
Williams has averaged 9.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and the aforementioned 41% shooting from long range in his career, in 27.7 minutes per night.
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