Most of the potential trade talk surrounding the Chicago Bulls is likely in the rearview mirror at this point of the offseason. The Bulls already made two sizable sign-and-trade deals at the outset of this cycle of free agency. And then, Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley got one more impactful sign-and-trade deal done last week to ship off restricted free agent and fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen.
What the Bulls got in those three sign-and-trade deals were point guard Lonzo Ball, star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, and small forward Derrick Jones Jr.
Moreover, considering that the Bulls already dished out the likes of Markkanen, center Wendell Carter Jr., center Daniel Gafford, etc. since the trade deadline, there’s essentially just one player remaining now from the previous young core. And that one remaining piece from the Bulls previous young core under John Paxson and Gar Forman is the third-year point guard and former North Carolina Tar Heel Coby White.
For a good while, there was a growing sentiment that Karnisovas and the Bulls could look to trade Coby at some point before the trade deadline next season. That makes sense given that the Bulls have traded away every other piece of the previous young core at hand.
But the Bulls could also get some value out of White in a scoring guard role off the bench next season. There are at least options that the Bulls have with White heading into next season.
One option that the Bulls should not roll with concerning White is a trade proposed by Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report on Sep. 1. Buckley of BR proposed a trade between the Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies that would see a swap of two draft picks and three players.
Chicago Bulls should not take this trade involving Coby White and Dillon Brooks from the Grizzlies
In this proposed trade, the Bulls would ship off the likes of Coby, small forward Troy Brown Jr., and two future second-round draft picks. In return, the Bulls would get former Oregon Ducks wing Dillon Brooks from the Grizzlies.
Here’s more on what this BR piece had to say about this proposed trade between the Bulls and Grizzlies, namely involving Brooks and White.
"Dillon Brooks brings tenacious energy on defense, and his size (6’7″, 225 lbs) grants him more flexibility than Chicago’s hired stoppers Lonzo Ball (6’6″, 190 lbs) and Alex Caruso (6’4″, 186 lbs). Mix-matching those players, plus sophomore swingman Patrick Williams, could help the Bulls contain some of the fires opponents will inevitably spark against this squad.As an added bonus, Brooks could give Chicago’s offense some extra bite. He isn’t the most efficient scorer around, but when he’s rolling, he can be a human torch (see: the 25.8 points per game he averaged in five playoff games this past season)."
It’s an interesting idea for the Bulls to get Brooks. But this is way too much for the Bulls to give up for a player that would essentially be a reserve second or third unit wing in this rotation.
Brown Jr. also has a ceiling just as high, if not higher, than Brooks at this point of his career. While Brooks has contributed more for the Grizzlies than Brown did for the Washington Wizards in prior seasons, he’s still got some potential left in the tank to contribute on a two-way basis.
We might still see a bunch of trade proposals concerning Coby and the Bulls ahead of the start of, and throughout, next season. But that doesn’t mean the Bulls will jump at the first offer that comes to them.
White still could provide a lot of value for the Bulls heading into next season. Last season, he averaged 15.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks. And he shot 41.6 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.1 percent from the free-throw line.