Former North Carolina guard Coby White is set to be a restricted free agent this offseason, either returning to the team that drafted him in the Chicago Bulls or potentially finding a new home.
The former lottery pick has had an up-and-down career so far but this past season, White found his role. He came off the bench as a guard and vibed well with the second unit, showing some promise.
But what does the future hold for White?
The Athletic’s John Hollinger wrote on White’s situation and projected what he could receive in the free agent market. Hollinger used his BORD$ projections and came to the conclusion that White’s value is $18.7M on the free-agent market.
“If you didn’t watch the Bulls a lot this year, I can hardly blame you,” Hollinger wrote. “But I can tell you White got significantly better over the course of the year and, at 23, has a pretty strong case to be paid as a top third guard. His restricted free agent status will likely chill his market a bit, especially since the Bulls are trying to win this year (a separate line of inquiry worthy of its own column) and can match any offer sheet.”
The 23-year-old White averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field.
With Chicago not wanting to commit to a full rebuild and needing a point guard to run the offense with Lonzo Ball likely out another year, bringing back White makes a lot of sense. And he could be in for a big payday.
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