Patrick Williams knew his left ankle went in a direction it wasn’t supposed to, but his initial reaction was, “I didn’t think it was that bad.’’
Ah, young guys. Optimistic until the MRI gives them that smack to the face of reality.
That’s where the second-year Bulls forward was on Monday – dealing with the reality of a severely sprained ankle and doing all he can to try and get back in time for the early stages of the regular season.
“I think it’s a day-by-day process, just trusting the [medical] staff that we have,’’ Williams said of where he is mentally with the setback. “We’re coming in every day ready to work. I haven’t really ever gotten hurt and had to sit out this long before. So it’s definitely new for me, something that I don’t want to get used to. But I think it’s a different challenge just learning how to come in every day and work on something other than the court.’’
Unfortunately for Williams, it’s the court that matters at the end of the day.
He was penciled in as the starting power forward, had a great summer of work under his belt, and was prepared to bring a new aggressive attitude to the offensive end.
Now, instead of practicing with a new-look roster for the start of camp on Tuesday, Williams will be jumping between hot tubs and ice packs, with a timetable that could delay his practice arrival for another few weeks.
Bad news for Williams, but potentially even worse for a Bulls roster that was lacking depth and size at that frontcourt spot before his injury.
“Obviously Patrick’s setback was unfortunate,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “He was having a great summer. Leading up to Summer League and post-Summer League he’s really done a great job. It’s disappointing he can’t start off [Tuesday].
“We’re probably going to be a little undersized at that position, but when you look around the league in those positions a lot of those guys have been incredibly versatile. I think we have the flexibility with our roster to move different guys down there.’’
So who will that be?
Derrick Jones Jr. is the likely candidate, but Donovan wasn’t about to tip his hand, wanting as much competition as possible at every position.
The coach threw out multiple scenarios, including putting veteran DeMar DeRozan at the four, and moving Alex Caruso into the starting lineup for a three-guard attack.
Hard pass
The Bulls came under investigation by the NBA back in early August for possibly violating the tampering rules in the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade, but Arturas Karnisovas wasn’t about to talk about where the investigation currently stood.
“Well thank you for your question, but I will not be able to comment on that,’’ the executive vice president of basketball operations said.
The Bulls weren’t alone, with Miami also being looked at for the sign-and-trade deal which sent Kyle Lowry to South Beach.
The NBA has been looking to stamp out the tampering practice for a handful of years, and two seasons ago instituted stiffer punishments for guilty organizations. That included a maximum tampering fine of up to $10 million, having draft picks taken away, or contracts simply voided.
Hard pass II
Zach LaVine spent the end of last season in the league’s health and safety protocol after testing positive for the coronavirus, and then had a scare at the start of the Olympics.
Just don’t ask the All-Star guard about those experiences or where he was in the vaccination process.
“Covid-related questions I’m keeping a personal matter to myself, and I think the team wants to do that as well,’’ LaVine said.
