Chicago Bulls: 3 possible offseason replacements for Coby White

2. Cedi Osman

Cedi Osman is a pure shooter who knows his role. In his rookie season, he was thrown into the fire after the Cleveland Cavaliers traded half of the team at the trade deadline. They were still competing for the championship, forcing Osman to take on the sixth man role for the group. Osman and the Cavs, led by LeBron James, made it to the NBA Finals.

While they were swept by the Warriors, Osman had a very solid showing in the playoffs as a rookie. Though his production went down once James left, when the Cavs acquired Ricky Rubio this past offseason, his production went back up, as expected when a shooter has a playmaker to set them up.

With the Bulls, he can play the two or even the three since he’s got size at 6-foot-7. He isn’t a defensive stopper, but he isn’t a defensive liability. He plays good team defense and rebounds at an average rate at his size (three boards per game).

He would be a solid floor spacer for the Bulls who could take pressure off of LaVine and DeRozan without compromising the team’s defense. That has been the main issue with White — even when he’s shooting good from the field. At his best, he’s a poor defender. At his worst, he’s a bad basketball player overall.

Osman is older with more mileage, but he will provide playoff experience and maturity and leave the door open for the Bulls to fully commit to Ayo Dosunmu at the backup guard position.

The Cavs have the tallest team in the NBA. That height allows for their guards to have more defensive mistakes than the average team, though they will try to improve in the offseason. And Osman could be a trade piece they float in talks, at which point the Bulls should be interested. Don’t forget, Osman was benched and found himself falling out of favor toward the end of the year.

The biggest improvement the Cavaliers need is at the backup guard spot. They lacked consistent playmaking once Rubio went down. They tried to patch that up by getting Rajon Rondo, but he’s been injury prone in his latter years. It’s highly likely the Cavs will try to find a young ball handler in the offseason who can both initiate the offense and play off the ball. In theory, White can develop into that, especially alongside Darius Garland and Colin Sexton.

It’s unclear what a potential deal might look like this offseason, but it’s worth pondering given both of these teams’ needs.