This former North Carolina Tar Heels star could bring in a significant haul at the NBA trade deadline.
Former North Carolina Tar Heels star Coby White could be playing out his final days with the Chicago Bulls, as White stands to be moved by the NBA trade deadline.
Trade speculation has surrounded White since the offseason, as the North Carolina product is in the final year of his contract, and the Bulls seem highly unlikely to re-sign him.
There have been some questions over White's value on the trade market due to his impending free agency and the fact that he has missed a significant chunk of this season due to a calf injury, but Brett Sigel of ClutchPoints has revealed that the 25-year-old could fetch a hefty return on the trade market.
Or at least that is what Chicago is hoping.
“Right now, they’ve wanted an unprotected first-round pick for Coby White," Sigel said on Clutch Scoops. "Even though he is in the final year of his contract, they feel that he is that type of value and that type of player where if they move him, he’s going to be the same type of player that he’s been for the Bulls.”
Chicago Bulls guard Coby White. Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images.White has labored this year. In 19 games, he is averaging 17.9 points and 4.6 assists over 28.1 minutes per gamed on 44.5/31.5/79.4 shooting splits, a far cry from what he was doing last season.
Of course, White's pesky injury has surely played a major role in his struggles, and perhaps the idea of feeling in limbo has resulted in a decline in his play, as well.
The Goldsboro, N.C. native registered 20.4 points and 4.5 assists across 33.1 minutes a night last year, shooting 45.3 percent from the floor, 37 percent from three-point range and 90.2 percent from the free-throw line.
White spent one season with the Tar Heels in 2018-19, recording 16.1 points and 4.1 assists per game on 42.3/35.3/80.0 splits. He was then selected by the Bulls with the seventh overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft.
It took quite some time for White to find his footing on the professional level, as he bounced back and forth between the starting lineup and the bench for the first four years of his career before finally becoming a full-time starter in 2023-24.
White owns career averages of 15.3 points and 3.9 assists per game.