The Chicago Bulls have been up and down of late, currently on track for a play-in appearance for the fourth consecutive year. The team has been involved in several trade rumors as the deadline approaches later this week, with one name repeatedly coming up being veteran guard Coby White.
Recently, Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic reported on some turbulence that the Bulls are encountering on the White trade front.
“While so few transactions have made the going rate for Bulls guard Coby White difficult to gauge, one source indicated that Chicago has struggled in early attempts to net a first-round pick in a deal that might involve the seventh-year guard. Any reluctance stems from his expiring contract, the potential figure on his next deal and his nagging calf issues this season,” reported Lorenzi.
Indeed, White will be a free agent in the upcoming offseason, and while expiring contracts do hold some value in today's NBA, teams likely wouldn't want to part ways with significant assets to bring in a player like White, who could theoretically walk out the door in a few months.
As Lorenzi mentioned, White has also been dealing with some injury concerns this season that kept him out for the opening chunk of the campaign and have reemerged at times as the calendar has flipped to 2026.
While the former North Carolina star remains a talented scorer who can heat up in a hurry and also make plays for his teammates, his relatively small size at the shooting guard position, combined with his lack of tenacity on the defensive side of the ball, don't exactly make him the archetype that teams are looking to stockpile in the current era of the NBA.
In any case, the Bulls will next hit the floor on Tuesday evening on the road vs the Milwaukee Bucks.
