Donovan likes Williams' potential as defensive stopper
The Bulls lost the two best perimeter defenders from last year's team, opting not to re-sign Kris Dunn or Shaq Harrison as free agents. Dunn got the most votes of any player left off the NBA all-defensive teams after last season.
New coach Billy Donovan thinks there may be a solution on the current roster, with the potential of 6-8 rookie Patrick Williams.
"One of the things I've been impressed with up to this point in time has been Patrick Williams' ability defensively," Donovan said Sunday. "Now he's playing against the same players every day in practice, but we start to see he's got a physical presence, he moves his feet. Florida State has always been a good program defensively.
"He's got a really good base coming in here. He certainly has a lot of great tools defensively in terms of his ability to recover and get through screens and get over pick-and-rolls. That's going to be important for us for the growth and development of this team."
Donovan singled out one other player, who hasn't been renowned for his defense to this point in his career.
"Zach (LaVine), I've been really impressed with him," Donovan said. "He's really good defender on the ball. I think he has great feet and he can move. We're going to have to have some different guys step up and be able to help the defensive end. Those two guys we lost were elite defenders."
Barring an injury, the Bulls will see Dunn on the opening night of the regular season since he signed with Atlanta.
Bulls add to roster:
The Bulls added center Simi Shittu to the training camp roster on Sunday. He played for the Windy City Bulls last season, averaging 12.3 points and 6.4 rebounds in 40 games. The 6-foot-10 native of England spent one year at Vanderbilt.
The NBA hasn't announced any plans yet for the G-League season, but it seems likely Shittu and guard Zach Norvell are headed for Windy City when the times comes.