3 Players that could make Chicago Bulls contenders next season

2. Coby White

In his four years with the Chicago Bulls, Coby White has given fans mixed feelings. He has shown incredible promise after being drafted with the 7th overall pick as a red-hot scorer who can make it from anywhere on the floor. However, we saw many times that he can be an inefficient, streaky shooter who would make some questionable plays on defense.

With the complete roster overhaul that the Bulls have experienced over the last four years, many have seemingly forgotten how young Coby is, considering the fact that he is the second-longest tenured player on the roster. He is still just 23 years old and has faced tremendous pressure from Bulls fans from the moment he was drafted by Chicago in 2019.

As a top player his first two seasons, and a key player on a winning roster in his third season, and never really got the chance to truly develop until this year. It was this year, the one he played the least minutes per game of his career thus far, where White showed that he can be a complete player that might be Chicago’s best bet to replace Lonzo Ball at the point guard.

Coby White needs to continue to make strides at point guard and bring the Bulls to the next level.

Coby was excellent after the all-star break, averaging 11.6 points and 4.5 assists per game on 49/41.3/100 shooting splits. He showed that he improved in nearly every area, shooting lights out from deep, improving his handles, passing the ball well, and being aggressive on defense. He was also able to take care of the ball better as well, recording the best assist-to-turnover ratio of his career. Here is one of his top plays of the season, which shows his development:

White pokes the ball out, gets going in transition, and does a nice behind-the-back move to pass Jalen Green, which he turns into a perfectly placed alley-oop for Zach LaVine. He has made strides this past year and is looking more like a point guard, which is something that the Bulls were definitely missing this year. Given the changes that he has made, it is definitely worth it for Chicago to re-sign White for a multi-year contract, as he is a restricted free agent this year. It is also worth giving him a shot as the starting point guard, as he is likely the best chance the Bulls have of bringing the offense together.

If Coby White can continue to develop the way he did last year and reach about 15 or 16 points and 5 to 6 assists per game on solid shooting and average defense, he could contribute to a lot of winning for the Chicago Bulls. White is definitely an X-Factor for the team in this upcoming year, as his success could elevate the Bulls into that next tier of teams in the East.