Proposed Bulls Trade Sees Team Swap Former Lottery Pick for Elite Marksman

After a campaign marred by Lonzo Ball’s knee issues, the Chicago Bulls will have big decisions to make this summer. However, at least one of those decisions — specifically, what should be done with former No. 7 overall pick Coby White — has actually been looming for a while now.

Before Ball was brought on board, there was a thought that White should get a crack at being the Bulls’ lead guard, even as he’s not a natural point. He made a strong case for consideration, too, by logging a 15-5-4 line in 2020-21.

In the end, though, Bulls VP Arturas Karnisovas decided to bring in Ball. And, even now — with the team facing an uncertain future at the position amid Ball’s injury — White has not been able to escape his tertiary bench role.

With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley dropped a pair of hypothetical White deals as part of a feature listing the trades “that every NBA team wishes it could do right now.”

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Nets Option Sends Sharpshooter Seth Curry to the Bulls

It’s worth noting that the time to actually pull off either of these moves probably would have been ahead of February’s trade deadline. As it stands, White is slated to enter restricted free agency this summer. If White could be moved right now, though, this trade with the Brooklyn Nets fills a major need for the Windy City crew:

• Chicago Bulls receive G Seth Curry
• Brooklyn Nets receive G Coby White

Wrote Swartz:

Curry could step in as an upgraded version of White without the thorny restricted free agency upcoming. Curry’s superior shooting could help scratch one of Chicago’s biggest itches, and he’d bring a more polished offensive arsenal.

Steph’s little bro might have been a big-time difference-maker for the mid-ranging Bulls, who currently rank dead last league-wide with just 10.3 three-point makes and 28.5 attempts nightly. Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Curry is a career 43.5% shooter from long range in addition to being an 11.1 PPG scorer.

He has also been to the postseason four years running, and the Bulls could definitely use another winning presence on the team.

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Indiana Pacers Option Would Add Old-School PG TJ McConnell to the Mix

White was also linked to the Indiana Pacers in Buckley’s piece, this time for a different kind of guard. Here’s the deal that was pitched:

• Chicago Bulls receive G TJ McConnell
• Indiana Pacers receive G Coby White

Wrote Buckley, again from a Bulls point of view:

Switching from White to McConnell would be a downgrade in shooting, and maybe that’s a deal-breaker for some Bulls backers since this team is short on spacers. Still, since Chicago gets significant scoring out of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, the Bulls might get more mileage out of McConnell’s distributing and feisty defense.

It’s worth noting that, unlike Curry — who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer — McConnell is signed for 2023-24 with an additional, non-guaranteed year in 2024-25. So, there may actually be some sign-and-trade possibilities with this proposal. On the other hand, there may be too much crossover here with current Bulls guard Alex Caruso.

At any rate, the 30-year-old McConnell is averaging 7.8 points, 5.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in Indy this season.

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