The Chicago Bulls only have six players fully under contract heading into next season. They have two more on options and another two on non-guaranteed contracts. However, there are five players who were in their regular-season rotation last season who will be free agents this summer, whether restricted or unrestricted.
Arturas Karnisovas has made it clear that he does not intend to rebuild the roster. He wants to compete with the current core. And if that’s the case, Chicago will need to bring back their rotational guys. One of those guys, who emerged as an important piece toward the end of this past season, is Coby White.
The 23-year-old point guard played very well down the stretch of the year, and now, according to Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report, White needs to be toward the top of their “free-agent big board.”
“Flip from the stat sheet to the film, though, and you’ll see the strides he made as a distributor and defender,” Buckley wrote. “This was the clearest indication yet he could become more than a spark-plug scorer off the bench. With his career trajectory suddenly pointing straight up, this would be the wrong time for the Bulls to let him go.
“And they don’t have to. He’s a restricted free agent, meaning they’ll have the right of refusal on any offer sheet he signs. That means they can search around for backcourt upgrades while White’s market materializes and then match anything he lands within reason.”
With Lonzo Ball’s injury, the Bulls need as much point guard depth as possible, so re-signing White should be a top priority.
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