NBA Rumors: A foundational piece of the Chicago Bulls' future may have suffered an injury setback in his road toward recovery.
Training camps across the league are set to begin in the next week. One team that has plenty of questions heading into the start of the season is the Chicago Bulls. At the forefront of concerns heading into the start of the season is health. One key foundational piece that is still recovering from injury is Patrick Williams.
After signing a huge extension this offseason, Williams is heading into an increasingly important season. As he prepares for his fifth season in the league, the Bulls are still waiting for Williams to make a big jump in his development. That could be difficult to do if he's still dealing with an injury, which he reportedly is.
Williams underwent surgery on his foot after suffering an injury last season. He seemed to be on track to be ready for the start of training camp but that is all now in jeopardy. After shutting down his rehab process due to discomfort he was feeling, there's now a chance Williams could end up missing the start of training camp and potentially the start of the season.
The Chicago Bulls are one of the biggest mysteries in the East
The Bulls remain one of the bigger mysteries in the Eastern Conference heading into the start of the season. In theory, this is a team that is probably pivoting toward a retooling or rebuilding of their roster. However, they still have veterans who don't fit in their most recent timeline on the roster. That could prove to be an awkward situation for the locker room heading into the start of the season.
You'd expect the Bulls are still focused on trading Zach LaVine at some point this season. At least for now, there's no guarantee that's going to be able to happen. That's part of what makes the Bulls impossible to project heading into the start of the season.
Even while trying to balance the old build with the new one, Williams was one of the young players who could fit in between to give this team hope heading into the future. But, at least for now, there are concerns about whether he's going to be healthy to begin the season.
Hopefully, Williams will be ready to go sooner rather than later. But it doesn't seem like the Bulls can catch any breaks at the moment.