The Chicago Bulls have spent the lead-up to the Feb. 5 trade deadline accumulating guards, acquiring Mike Conley in a three-team trade, landing Jaden Ivey in another multi-team deal, and getting Anfernee Simons from the Celtics. There has been some chatter about Chicago flipping Conley or buying out his contract, but even if he isn't around for long, it's obvious who the front office will trade next — Coby White.
Trading for Ivey sealed White's already uncertain future with the Bulls. He's on an expiring contract and wants to get paid over the summer, as in somewhere around the $30 million range. Whether that will happen is another story, but it is enough to keep teams away.
That's another way of saying that his trade value isn't all that high, but that doesn't mean a trade shouldn't happen. No, we're not talking about trading Ayo Dosunmu, either. He's the guard the Bulls should keep and re-sign over the summer. Dosunmu is the better fit alongside Josh Giddey, who Chicago re-signed last summer on a four-year, $100 million deal.
White is the odd man out, so between now and tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT, expect the soon-to-be 26-year-old to be on the way out, leaving the only NBA team he's known.
Bulls will trade Coby White before the deadline
It seems like finally the front office is turned in the right direction, so while there is still a chance that Chicago will keep White through the end of the season, the past few days might have proven that the Bulls know better than to do that.
Rather than ponder whether the right decision is to re-sign White or not (and it isn't), Chicago now has another guard to worry about in Ivey, who is also on an expiring deal. However, unlike White, Ivey will be a restricted free agent this offseason, so the Bulls can either sign him to a multi-year contract or extend him the qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Ivey is the better investment for Chicago's future. He averaged only 8.2 points per game in 16.8 minutes across 33 games (two starts) for the Pistons this season. Ivey didn't make his 2025-26 debut until the end of November after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in October.
Between the offseason addition of Duncan Robinson and Daniss Jenkins' strong play, Ivey slipped down the rotation.
He struggled to look like the player he was in the first half of last season, when he averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in 30 contests, shooting 46% from the field and 40.9% from three, before breaking his fibula on Jan. 1, 2025.
Ivey is healthy now, and a fresh start could do him well. Clearly, the Bulls believe so, too. The remainder of the season will indicate what path Chicago takes in the offseason with his future, so there is no need to have White standing in the way of Ivey's minutes.
It's time to see what the Bulls can turn White into, but don't expect it to be much.