The Chicago Bulls haven’t made a ton of noise this offseason, with their most significant move being the Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro swap they completed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But are the Bulls missing the boat on another trade?
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes thinks so, as he feels that Chicago should have already dealt star guard Coby White, who has been floated in trade speculation for quite some time now and is entering the final year of his contract.
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“The only argument against the Chicago Bulls shopping Coby White at the deadline is that this franchise almost never does the shrewd, difficult thing. Every other factor points to the 25-year-old guard changing teams,” Hughes wrote.
To be more specific, Hughes is referring to next season’s NBA trade deadline.
“Playing out the last year of his contract, White is in line to make just $12.9 million in 2025-26. The most Chicago can offer him in an extension is $89 million over four years, based on a starting salary worth 140 percent of that $12.9 million figure. That’s not nearly enough for White, who could easily fetch $25-30 million per season on the open market.”
The Chicago Bulls logo on their uniform during the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on January 01, 2022 in Washington, DC.
The Chicago Bulls logo on their uniform during the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on January 01, 2022 in Washington, DC.
G Fiume/Getty Images
Essentially, the Bulls should move White before most likely losing him for nothing next summer, which seems to be the most probable outcome.
White enjoyed the best season of his career this past year, averaging 20.4 points, 4.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds over 33.1 minutes per game on 45.3/37.0/90.2 shooting splits.
The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate basketball at North Carolina, was selected by Chicago with the seventh overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft.
White was a bit of a disappointment over his first four years in the league, actually showing some clear signs of regression in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before finally breaking out a couple of seasons ago.
During the 2023-24 campaign, White logged 19.1 points per game, shattering his previous career high of 15.1 that he achieved in his sophomore year.
The Goldsboro, N.C. native is still not the greatest defender in the world, but he is an improving offensive threat who should definitely generate some interest on the trade market.
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The problem, however, is that the Bulls are rather thin on offensive talent otherwise, so trading White now would have some pretty serious ramifications in the present. But it may very well be the best decision for Chicago’s future.
There should be plenty of teams willing to take a chance on the youngster, so there would be no shortage of potential suitors for White.
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