The Chicago Bulls are definitely expected to be sellers by the NBA trade deadline, and one of their top trade chips is guard Coby White.
The problem is that while White has developed into an impressive scorer and is still just 25 years old, his trade value may not be what the Bulls had hoped, and it’s due to a combination of factors.
Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times has revealed the primary issues with White’s trade stock, noting that the calf injury that has persisted for the former first-round pick since August has been a major variable.
White is in the final year of his contract and was obviously hoping to bolster his value for his next deal, but he has played in just 16 games this season and is averaging 19.2 points and 4.7 assists a night on 44.5/32.4/79.6 shooting splits.
So not only is White being viewed as a half-year rental around the league, but he hasn’t even played that well.
Will the Chicago Bulls be able to land anything in return for Coby White?
That begs the question: will the Bulls actually be able to receive anything of value in exchange for White?
You would think that a young player who registered 20.4 points per game on impressive efficiency last season would have a rather robust trade market, but that does not appear to be the case. If anything, White’s trade value has dropped significantly.
Additionally, White has never been known as much of a defender, so the fact that his offensive production has declined so considerably this year is a major red flag.
The University of North Carolina product was initially expected to land a multi-year contract worth in the neighborhood of $30 million annually next summer, but now, it’s looking like White may struggle to come close to that number.
White entered the NBA in 2019 and had an up and down first few seasons, floating back and forth between the starting lineup and the bench. He finally established himself as a starter during the 2023-24 campaign when he logged 19.1 points per game and has been in Chicago’s starting five ever since.
Surely, a contender could use White, but whether or not any team would be willing to give up anything of real value remains to be seen.
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