Getty Bulls exec Artūras Karnišovas
The Chicago Bulls have been urged to trade a $24 million guard this season.
In an October 7th piece called “1 Player Every NBA Team Should Trade This Season,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley named Coby White as the player the Bulls should move on from.
“The Chicago Bulls are probably in a holding pattern until they have more clarity on Lonzo Ball’s health,” Buckley wrote. “If they ever get a good word about their lead guard, though, then it’ll be time to start shopping Coby White around—or restart that process, actually. A healthy Bulls backcourt doesn’t need White. Between Ball, Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Goran Dragic and Dalen Terry, the Bulls can get whatever they want out of their guards. White, who’s more of a scorer than a table-setter, would hold more appeal to a club in dire need of perimeter points.”
The Bulls drafted White with the seventh overall pick in the 2019 draft. The UNC product has career averages of 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 195 regular-season games while shooting 41.3% from the field, 36.5% from beyond the arc and 85.1% from the free-throw line.
White will make $7.4 million in 2022-23. He signed a four-year, $24.1 million rookie scale contract with the Bulls in July 2019.
White Has Been on the Trade Block for the Last Year
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported in July that White has been on the trade block for the last year. Chicago executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas may be waiting for the right deal to come along for White.
“So where does that leave White now? Basically on the outside looking in. He has been on the trade block for the last year, but Karnisovas & Co. did not like the offers and weren’t just looking to give him away,” Cowley reported. “But they also have no intention of extending him this fall when White’s rookie deal starts winding down. Instead, the Bulls seem poised to keep White for depth purposes, revisit his trade value at the deadline if the backcourt is healthy, and if he is a Bull come next summer, simply let the market set a price on him and decide if the restricted free agent would be worth matching.”
Bulls starting point guard Lonzo Ball is out for the foreseeable future after undergoing another arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. However, White isn’t guaranteed a lot of playing time since Chicago has a plethora of guards on the roster, headlined by Alex Caruso, Goran Dragic, Zach LaVine, Dalen Terry, DeMar DeRozan, Javonte Green and Ayo Dosunmu.
White Ready for Anything in Critical Fourth Season
White told reporters he’s ready for anything in what is a critical season for him. The youngster is eligible for a rookie-scale extension. White would become a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal with the Bulls by the rookie-scale extension deadline.
“Nah,” White said in September when asked if he has something to prove in light of that dynamic. “I just play basketball, bro. I’m just looking at it as another season. Come in, help my team. We’re really focused on winning here, going to the second round of the playoffs and so on. Whatever I can do to help my team do that, that’s all I care about. And I believe everything else will take care of itself.”
White underwent a precautionary MRI after leaving Tuesday’s preseason opener with a left knee contusion. The MRI revealed no structural damage.