The Chicago Bulls haven’t made a ton of great trades lately, but of them all, the Coby White deal may be one of the worst. Not only did they get a mid-tier return in exchange for White, but since joining the Charlotte Hornets, he’s been balling out. Charlotte is in the Play-In, and Chicago missed the playoffs.
White enjoyed some solid seasons in Chicago. In fact, for a while, it seemed like he was going to be a big part of the Bulls’ future. But at this year’s trade deadline, the Bulls decided to trade him away, getting back Mike Conley, Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, and three second-round picks. (And then they traded Dieng for Nick Richards…)
Needless to say, the deal was a mess, and with how well White has played, it’s only getting worse by the day.
Coby White's play in Charlotte makes the trade even worse for Bulls
During his time in Chicago, White quickly emerged as one of the better young score-first guards in the league. At least, that’s what he looked like he could be for a few years.
However, the Bulls never really did much with him in the driver’s seat. They brought in Josh Giddey, and for a time at the start of this season, Chicago looked like it could compete. But that dream quickly faded.
Since joining the Hornets, White has provided them with a great scoring boost off the bench. Now, he’ll have a chance to play postseason basketball, should Charlotte make it out of the Play-In Tournament.
In his 21 regular-season games with the Hornets, White has played 19.3 minutes per contest, all coming off the bench. In those games, White has averaged 15.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 46.1% from the floor and 39.1% from deep range on 5.2 three-point attempts per contest.
Seeing White flourish on one of the hottest teams in the NBA—a team that would be a lock for the playoffs, had it not been for its cold start—has to make Bulls fans a bit upset.
Chicago could have found a way to put White in a position to succeed. They could have drafted better. They could have tried to tank instead of adding DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic.
But they didn’t do any of that. Instead, they somehow found a way to stay perfectly in the middle of the East, which is the absolute worst place to be.
Combine the return that Chicago got back for White and how well he has played in Charlotte, and the trade was an absolute disaster for the Bulls.
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