Monday at 5 p.m. CT marked the deadline for NBA teams and rookie-scale eligible players to reach agreements on extensions before the start of the 2022-23 NBA season.
That deadline came and went — and the Chicago Bulls and Coby White did not come to an agreement, setting up a contract year for the fourth-year guard.
With no extension in place, White, 22, will be a restricted free agent in 2023, meaning that if the Bulls extend him a qualifying offer they will be able to match any offer sheet he signs with another team.
In 195 career games since being drafted by the Bulls' previous front office regime with the seventh overall pick in 2019, White has averaged 12.7 points, 3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and shot 36.5 percent from 3-point range. A combo guard, he has oscillated between a litany of roles in his time in the league, beginning as a reserve scorer, then taking over as starting point guard in Billy Donovan's first year as head coach (2020-21), before being moved back to the bench after the team signed Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso in the 2021 offseason.
Following an offseason in which trade rumors swirled around him — and the Bulls did field offers before opting to stand pat — White will begin this season in a reserve role as well, likely playing off the ball often in a guard rotation that will start Ayo Dosunmu and Zach LaVine, bring Caruso and Goran Dragić off the bench, and, the team hopes, eventually return Ball.
“Nah,” White told reporters earlier in training camp when asked if he has something to prove in light of his potential contract-year dynamic. “I just play basketball, bro. I'm just looking at it as another season. Come in, help my team. We're really focused on winning here, going to the second round of the playoffs and so on.
“Whatever I can do to help my team do that, that's all I care about. And I believe everything else will take care of itself.”
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White's value is rather nebulous at the moment, given his uncertain role and inconsistent production at both ends of the court in his first three seasons. How he fares in the upcoming campaign will be all-important to his future, financially and with the Bulls.
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