Patrick Williams had never been to Chicago before the Bulls drafted him last month.
“The weather is a big change,” the Charlotte, N.C., native said. “So when I first got here, I had to get some winter coats.”
It’s this kind of practicality and adaptability that make Williams sound wiser than his 19 years, whether he’s talking about something as obvious as a required wardrobe addition or embracing the challenges of his new job. It’s also why the Bulls are optimistic their first-round pick can handle an unprecedented assimilation process.
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Williams was playing for his ACC champion Florida State program when COVID-19 shut down that conference tournament and, ultimately, the NCAA Tournament. Now, just two weeks after the Bulls drafted him fourth overall and nine months removed from his last organized game, he’s working out daily at the Advocate Center, preparing for his first training camp without the benefit of summer league.
“It’s a crash course right now,” executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas said. “They were just drafted and they’re right in training camp. So you miss that summer league that you have practices and games. That would be a couple of weeks off after the summer league and in August you would start training and you would have eight weeks leading to the training camp. So that would be the sequence for the rookies.
“Beside the basketball side of it for the rookies, it’s going to be quick learning of how to be a pro. And I think it’s going to fall on our shoulders as a staff to bring him up as quick as a possible, and it’s going to be their teammates helping them out during the training camp and teaching them things.”
On this point, Williams practically gushed throughout his nearly 18-minute Zoom session with reporters on Thursday. His parents originally came to Chicago to help him get settled but then Williams began leaning on his new family.
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“All the guys, whether it’s Luke (Kornet), OP (Otto Porter Jr.) or Zach (LaVine), or even Coby (White), DG (Daniel Gafford), all the guys I’ve talked to, asked questions. They all check up on me from time to time, ask me how I’m doing on the court, off the court,” Williams said. “They’ve welcomed me with open arms. They’ve just accepted me as a teammate and a brother from Day One, which I really appreciate.’’
And through it all, Williams has found refuge and familiarity in the comforts of work, in the practice of bettering his craft.
“Every day I’ve come in here I’m learning new things, terminology or places on the court, things like that,” Williams said. “That’s been the best part for me. That’s a dream come true. I’ve always been a guy who likes to get better and likes to learn new things.”
Again, it’s this eagerness to get better and his projected versatility on the court that has the Bulls so excited for Williams’ potential.
“Just looking at Patrick for the short time he’s been here, defensively he’s got the ability and capability to guard multiple positions, which I think in today’s NBA is really important for forwards,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He has been at point guard for a good part of his career growing up. I mean, for his size and the way he can handle the basketball and the way he can pass, I think that’s really a positive. I think those things will certainly translate.
“I think when to shoot, when to pass, when to drive, being a young player he’ll learn those things. But the thing I’ve been really impressed with is getting a chance to meet his family. Getting a chance to spend some time with him, he’s a great kid -- extremely humble. I think he’s hard-working, wants to learn, wants to get better.”
This is why talk of whether or not Williams will start or come off the bench or what position he’ll play doesn’t matter as much as what he can absorb. There’s a lot coming at Williams, and he’s thankful he has the upbringing to try to handle it, not to mention his new support staff.
“I can talk to (Donovan) about really anything, which I wasn’t expecting from an NBA head coach,” Williams said. “I can come to him with any problems I have or any questions that I have. I really love him as a coach. He’s definitely a players coach. And then he’s really smart, so it’s been great having him.’’
Williams reminded reporters he willingly came off the bench at Florida State, so role acceptance won’t be an issue. And as for those ball-handling skills, well, they’re legit.
Williams arrived at West Charlotte High as a 5-foot-11 freshman and started at point guard through his junior year. By the time he hit his growth spurt to reach his current 6-8, he became a jack-of-all-trades player, able to guard multiple positions and toggle between various offensively responsibilities.
“Those guard skills are definitely still with me,” he said.
So is the defensive willingness.
“That’s something I love about any player,” Wendell Carter Jr. said.
Another teammate, Chandler Hutchison, is a self-described March Madness junkie. But with no NCAA Tournament this year, Hutchison didn’t know what to expect when he first watched Williams on the Advocate Center court.
“Normally I get a feel for some of the guys. But with him, I didn’t know a whole lot about. So just watching him work out a little bit, the kid can play,” Hutchison said. “He’s young. But I think he’s going to be big for our team with what we want to do, being able to switch, being versatile. So it should be good.”
A maturity that belies his age underscored several of Williams’ answers. To wit:
On the perception that rookies will be behind because of no summer league: “I mean, you really never know. All the rookies are stepping into something we've never seen before, we've never dealt with before. We've never been in the NBA, and of course we've never been in the NBA during a pandemic. But my job is to come in every day and just work and make sure I get the plays, make sure I'm doing what I need to do so when my name is called, I can produce.”
On Spencer Dinwiddie’s Tweet that he has “no ceiling”: “Spencer is like an older brother to me. When I was out in LA for predraft working out we were pretty much working out every day, playing pickup, so I really admire his game and for him to say something like that about me really means a lot. But for me it just means there's more work to be done. I mean, a ceiling is a ceiling, but you have to reach that ceiling... If you never max out or reach your full potential, then it doesn't really mean anything, so. I've just been getting here, working to try and get as good as I can. Try to become as good of a player as I can so that I can show that I have no ceiling. So, for one, for him I'm just thankful for him to say that about me. But to me it just means more work to be done.
On being the youngest player in the draft: “I don’t want to play like the youngest. I don’t want to talk or act like the youngest because then you’re like a liability. I just want to fit in with the guys whether they’re 25 or 26 or 20 or 21. I don’t want to be, ‘Oh, he’s the young guy so we gotta cut him some slack.’ I want to come in from Day One and be part of the group. I don’t want to be an outlier just because I’m young.”
For all of Williams’ talk of staying in the moment, he did let slip one future plan. It’s not about himself.
“When I first came into the locker room, Thad (Young) was like, ‘Man, you’re a rookie. I remember my rookie year. It goes by quick.’ And just to see the progress he has made over the years, I want to do the same thing,” Williams said. “I want to be able to look back at a rookie coming into the league and kind of give him guidance, give him knowledge that will help him prolong his career as Thad has done for me.”