Bulls guard Coby White will likely enter next summer as one of the most in-demand free agents on the NBA market. Chicago may have already missed out on its best chance to do something about it.
The 25-year-old had his best pro season in 2024-25. He averaged a career-high 20.4 points per game on a career-best 45.3 percent shooting from the field. His free-throw attempts per game (4.1) and shooting percentage from the line (90.2) were also top marks for the six-year pro.
He averaged 26.0 points in his final 21 games and connected on 38.3 percent of his 154 triples over that span. He scored at least 20 points in 18 of 19 contests between Feb. 28 and April 6, with a high of 44 (on 7-of-15 from three) in a two-point win over the Orlando Magic on March 6.
White took Zach LaVine's role as the team's go-to scorer and ran with it. If he continues carrying that load this season, he'll be in line for a huge payday, which would create problems for Chicago.
Bulls' Coby White will be popular at 2026 trade deadline, in free agency
Understandably, the organization is focused on White's backcourt mate, Josh Giddey, and his potential contract extension. The 22-year-old floor general is a restricted free agent, and that saga continues to drag out with the expectation that a deal between player and franchise will get done. It hasn't yet, though, and negotiations have passed the two-month mark.
Getting a long-term contract done with Giddey should take precedence. But White's future in Chicago shouldn't be on the back burner for long.
The Bulls have already made a mistake in that regard, according to Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report.
Hughes compiled a list of the five NBA players who will garner the most attention at this year's trade deadline, and White's name is on the docket along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Trae Young and Jonathan Kuminga.
White is in the final year of a three-year, $36 million extension he signed in 2023. He'll make $12.9 million this season, which severely limits the Bulls' ability to give him a new deal commensurate with his production.
Chicago's only allowed to offer White an $89 million deal over four years, which he should turn down. He'll be looking for a new contract worth at least $30 million annually, and if he plays as well as he did last year, he will likely get it.
The Bulls are projected to have the most cap space in the NBA next offseason, which puts them in a good spot to offer White whatever he feels he deserves. Hughes, though, argues that Chicago should have already cut bait and found a trade partner for the UNC product rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.
Hughes' argument isn't without merit. Would it be smart roster building to pay a scoring guard max or near-max money when you've already presumably locked up Giddey with a long-term payday? It would be a massive investment to make for a defensively inadequate backcourt.
But trading White isn't the smart play, at least not now. The Bulls were one of the 10 best teams in the league by winning percentage after last year's All-Star break. Matas Buzelis seems poised to make the proverbial sophomore leap. Chicago has made moves on the periphery to add more defense and athleticism to surround Giddey and White as two franchise pillars
The right decision is to take a wait-and-see approach. If the Bulls have another middling season, then it may be time to chart a path forward and decide where White may or may not fit. He showed too much promise last season to simply cut bait.