Getty Coby White
By most accounts, the Chicago Bulls are Zach LaVine’s team, but with a new head coach in Billy Donovan and management group in Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley, there is room for every player to make a strong impression. Second-year-pro Coby White is seizing the opportunity.
He is impressing everyone in early team scrimmages.
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“Coby Looked the Best”
Longtime Bulls insider Sam Smith answered fan mail after the recent Bulls five-on-five scrimmages during the team’s voluntary workouts, and he said plainly, White looked the best of all the players at the scrimmage.
Smith wrote:
BullsTV Thursday offered a nice look at some of the scrimmages, and, yes, we actually saw Bulls playing basketball for the first time in seven months. So you can’t fairly expect much. Or make many judgments. Coby White looked the best, which confirms what I’d heard during the scrimmages, though he also had the ball most of the time. But that is the current NBA. I think it’s becoming clear he’s not going to be a reserve. That seems to make it less likely the Bulls will draft a point guard with No. 4. Perhaps if they trade down. I actually like the other French guy, Theo Maledon, who could drop into the 20s, as a backup point guard for the future. Avdija seems to fit on need the best, but Karnisovas has said that won’t be a priority. But I digress again.
In case you need some visual evidence of White’s strong play, take a look at him doing work, some of which came with LaVine as his primary defender.
Coby White COLD-BLOODED triple!
Full Scrimmage ➡️ t.co/t5rz0kJUvt
These are obviously just snapshots of White’s play, and this is just a voluntary workout, but it seems clear by virtue of all of the top Bulls players’ presence, the organization has created a competitive environment.
White’s play is proving the team made a strong decision selecting him in the 2019 NBA Draft, even if the pick came from the last regime.
Does Coby White’s Play May Kris Dunn Expendable?
Without a question, White’s strong play down the stretch of the regular season (prior to the pandemic and the Bulls missing an opportunity to play in the bubble) and in the voluntary workouts has seemingly cemented Kris Dunn’s departure.
Also, Dunn’s decision to skip the voluntary workouts might also be a major sign that he and new management aren’t on the same page, or communicating. Dunn is a restricted free agent and it would take a $7 million qualifying offer for the Bulls to place their bid to retain him.
That would create serious competition for the starting point guard spot between White and Dunn with the latter being the superior defender, and the former having the edge on the other end of the floor.
The Bulls could also trade back in the first round and select a young backup point guard as Smith suggested. In any case, White’s strong play gives the team some options and an enviable dilemma.
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