Former Exec Sends Clear Message About Coby White After Bulls Face ‘Off Night’

The Chicago Bulls’ top priority this offseason is figuring out a “compromise” with potential restricted free agent Josh Giddey, per former Brooklyn Nets executive Bobby Marks. However, figuring out the supporting cast is No. 2, and Coby White figures to be a factor.

White averaged a career-high in points per game (20.4) for the second straight season.

Heading into the final year of a three-year, $36 million contract, Marks called White an “extension candidate to watch.”

“Outside of Giddey, no player on the roster made more of an impact than White. After finishing second in Most Improved Player voting last season, White was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month in March,” Marks wrote for ESPN on April 15. “He had three straight games of 35 points or more and finished the month averaging 27.7 points and a career high 49.5% from the field. He is eligible to sign a four-year, $89 million extension starting July 10. White will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 if a new contract is not signed by June 30, 2026.”

White averaged 4.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds, and he shot 37% from beyond the arc in 2024-25. All three of those figures are down from his 2023-24 campaign. However, his 60.1% true shooting mark is a career best.

The former No. 7 overall pick of the 2019 draft, White is the last player on the roster from before Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas took over in 2020.

Karnišovas still wants White back.

“Coby’s progression every year has been unbelievable. He always found another level. Obviously, after All-Star weekend, he improved his scoring average by 6 [PPG], and he was the Player of the Month. He found his voice with this group and is, obviously, enjoying playing with this group,” Karnišovas told reporters on April 17.

“When the time comes, we will talk to him. But I think he’s done unbelievable job this year, and, again, all this group is going to learn from what happened yesterday.”

Coby White Delivers Dose of Truth After Bulls’ Loss to Heat

White scored 17 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal in the Bulls’ Play-In Tournament loss to the Miami Heat. He was inefficient, shooting 25% from the floor and beyond the arc with 7 turnovers.

Heat guard Davion Mitchell was a big reason for that. He was officially credited with holding White to 5 points on 2-for-6 shooting with 3 TOs, per NBA.com’s matchup data.

Mitchell entered the NBA with the nickname “Off Night” and showed why versus White.

“We’ve got to learn from it,” White said after the game, per The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry on April 17. “We’ve got to go into the summer knowing that we can’t keep putting ourselves in this position.”

Billy Donovan Defends Coby White

White’s comments echo sentiments Bulls head coach Billy Donovan expressed after the loss to the Heat.

“You get to this point in time of this season, these games are going to be grind-out games. And I think I mentioned before the game, there’s going to be experiences that these guys are going to have to go through, quite honestly,” Donovan told reporters on April 16. “The disappointing part was we didn’t play to our identity. We just didn’t.

“Talked before the game about the turnovers. We had, I don’t know, we had 10 of them – or 11 in the first half. And you give up 23 points at this point in time? This – you can’t win like that. It’s hard.”

However, Donovan also defended his guards, including White, amid some of the Bulls’ failings.

“There’s going to be breakdowns to the point of screens, right? You don’t – We’re not talking about the fact that our low man is not protecting the rim, and there’s no sign of anybody there,” Donovan said. “That’s not all on Josh, or Coby, or the perimeter – and vice versa. Sometimes you gotta be able to manage and control the ball a little bit at the point of screen so you don’t have to come over there.”