Key pieces of the Chicago Bulls new core to build around: Coby White
Finding out who would take up this spot on the list was a difficult task. There is clearly still a role in this backcourt rotation for the second-year former North Carolina Tar Heels point guard Coby White. But what particular role he will fit into for Donovan and the Bulls moving forward has less clarity at the moment.
Once again, Coby did improve his game down the stretch for the Bulls. But his numbers as a whole looked pretty similar to how they did during his rookie campaign, which wasn’t a great sign of progress. Coby did find some parts of his game that could serve a lot of value for a long time in the NBA.
For instance, Coby showed that he can be a very proficient catch-and-shoot threat from deep. He also runs the ball pretty well in transition when he’s not forcing bad passes.
On the other end of the spectrum, Coby was one of the worst defenders for the Bulls over the last two seasons. He has trouble sticking with some of the more proficient guards on the perimeter. And he was a common offender of fouling opposing three-point shooters when it really wasn’t necessary.
Nonetheless, utilizing the volume scoring guard ability of White is something that the Bulls are likely to take advantage of at least for the next season or two. Coby might not look like the point guard of the future for this franchise at this point in time, but he can fill a sixth or seventh man role that is a spark plug off the bench on offense.