The Chicago Bulls are stuck with a huge mistake, according to Pippen Ain’t Easy. It is hard to watch Patrick Williams struggle while seeing what could have been. The team gave him a five-year, $90 million contract extension, but that money is now a weight around the franchise’s neck.
The recent news about the 2020 NBA Draft makes the situation even more painful. According to Tim MacMahon of The Hoop Collective, some people in the Bulls’ front office actually wanted to draft Tyrese Haliburton at number four. Instead, Artūras Karnišovas chose Williams. It is a brutal way to realize you passed on a star.
A Massive Missed Opportunity
Haliburton didn’t just become a good player. He became an elite force. Per reports, he led the league in assists during the 2023-24 season. He also helped the Indiana Pacers reach the 2025 NBA Finals. The Bulls haven’t even reached the Conference Finals since 2011. That gap in success is a direct result of poor drafting.
The talent gap is staggering. While Haliburton is winning big games, Williams is seeing his role shrink. His playing time dropped during each of the last three seasons. In the 2025-26 season, he played only 20.5 minutes per game. He also shot under 40 percent from the field, which happened twice in two years.
The Cost of Bad Decisions
The money is the real problem now. The Bulls still owe Williams $54 million over the next three years. It is very hard to trade a player with those stats and that much money on the books. No team wants to take on that kind of financial burden.
The front office is trying to move forward, but the foundation is shaky. Brian Windhorst noted that the previous leadership stayed in their roles long enough to secure that $90 million extension for Williams. Now, the team has to deal with the fallout of that choice. The Bulls have plenty of room for players like Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis, but they are still missing the elite talent that a player like Haliburton provides.