On January 20, Beijing time, according to Bulls reporter Joe Cowley, the Bulls' vice president of basketball operations, Kanisowas, has decided to explore a trade opportunity for Patrick Williams (Pavey). That means one more player at the Bulls, who are already looking to trade LaVine, Vucevic and Lonzo Ball.

The 23-year-old Parvey has been on a dip in the fifth season of his career, averaging just 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 32 games per game, shooting 37.7 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from three-point range, both career lows.

Ever since the Bulls drafted Pawe with the No. 4 pick in 2020, he has been seen as one of the team's long-term development goals. However, sources revealed that Pawe "is not easy to work with". His attitude was fine, but he was not happy with his role and there was a communication barrier with the coach.

Cowley explained that the Bulls usually assign assistant coaches to specific players, but Pawe's performance was disappointing. In nine games in January, Pavey's stats dropped to 6.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, and head coach Donovan continued to reduce his playing time, losing to the Hornets, Pavey only played 17 minutes, scored five points, and failed to grab rebounds, with a plus/minus of -17.

The Bulls wanted to trade Pavey less than six months after signing a five-year, $90 million contract extension. Cowley pointed out that Pawe was a restricted free agent last summer, so Kanisovas could have asked him to seek offers from other teams and then decide whether to match the offer, which could be more beneficial to the Bulls. But Canisovas directly offered Pawe a long-term contract that would pay him $18 million per season, including a player option for the 2028-29 season. Given Pawe's recent performances, there probably aren't many teams willing to accept the contract without an attached draft pick.