NBA executives believe that Coby White could be on the trade block soon, according to Michael Sotto of HoopsHype.
“A couple of executives around the league I spoke to believe that Coby White is a trade candidate for the Bulls because he was a part of the old regime, and he’ll move to that bench role as a combo guard,” Sotto reported.
White underwent surgery on his left shoulder on June 10, after he injured a ligament while playing basketball away from team affiliation, according to the Chicago Bulls.
The third-year point guard is expected to make a return in mid-November. He is most likely to appear off the bench as Lonzo Ball remains the starting point guard.
Report: Executives around NBA believe that Coby White is potential trade candidate https://t.co/5KJWWDpTeg
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) October 27, 2021
The Bulls could trade White away for a huge asset.
The Bulls could trade away White and get a huge payday in return.
From a managerial standpoint, Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley have a trade exception in their back pocket that they acquired from the Daniel Theis trade to Houston.
The trade exception allows the Bulls to trade for a player up to $5 million in contract value without having to give up any salary in return, according to Hoops Rumors.
That said, the Bulls could trade White, who’s on a small, limited rookie contract, for a bigger player in the market without consequence to the cap.
The Bulls have to be in cap trouble for this to happen, which they currently are at $20 million in the red, according to Spotrac.
The Bulls could get a solid return for White. White is 21-years old and is already a proven scorer in the league, averaging double-figures in his first two seasons in the league.
White’s adaptability is serious too. If memory serves Bulls fans correctly, Tomas Satoransky replaced White last season, mostly because of his struggles on defense and to facilitate at the point guard position.
However, White still performed well off the bench and gave life to the second rotation. If a team truly believes in its ability to develop young players, White is the perfect candidate.
Coby White underwent successful surgery on his left shoulder today to repair damage from an injury sustained this past weekend while engaged in basketball activities away from the team.
He will be re-evaluated in four months.
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) June 10, 2021
Coby White is an essential asset to the team.
The Bulls should not jettison their prized, young combo guard.
White averaged 15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season. He shot 41.6 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from downtown.
Scoring is White’s forte on the team, proven by the stats. He struggled in plenty of other areas last season. Facilitating, defense and turnovers were White’s kryptonite. Playing the role of a pure scorer kept his value high on the team.
For that reason, the Bulls should keep White around.
The Bulls have only won the battle of bench points against the Pelicans this season. The Pistons (twice) and the Raptors outscored the Bulls in bench points this season.
Head coach Billy Donovan’s marquee lineup off the bench includes Alex Caruso, Alize Johnson, Javonte Green and Troy Brown Jr. All of these players are substantially defensive-minded players.
Caruso is one of the league’s best defenders at the guard position, Johnson is a defensive rebounding asset, Donovan encouraged Brown last season to be a defensive-minded player, and Green has the weakest case to this argument — but is a swiss army knife.
That said, the second rotation could use some offensive gusto. Insert Coby White in just a couple of weeks and the roster becomes well-balanced on both ends of the floor.
