Coby White may need a fresh start to truly come into his own.
Coming into the NBA, expectations were high for Coby White. A combo guard from North Carolina, White was selected seventh overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2019 NBA Draft and was immediately thrown into the fire, where he struggled to live up to the responsibilities of being an NBA point guard.
White, though, has steadily grown into the role. With the Bulls acquiring veteran playmakers, the 6-foot-5 guard has thrived in a sixth-man role, using his scoring ability to give the Bulls a much-needed offensive boost when coming off the bench. Despite the notable improvements on both ends of the floor, there are still questions surrounding White’s long-term fit with the Bulls. He could be better off transitioning to a more perimeter-oriented role or even changing teams altogether.
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Wants to be a starting guard
Although White has transitioned nicely into his reserve role, he wasn’t shy about expressing his confidence and desire to be a starter in the league. Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote that White certainly has the tools to be something more than what his current role requires, and a move away from Chicago may be the best path toward achieving his goals.
“White has excellent positional size at 6’5″, reps as a primary ball-handler and secondary scorer, an 85.4 percent career free-throw percentage that suggests his 36.7 percent hit rate from deep will climb and promising per-minute numbers for his age,” Hughes wrote.
Hard to flourish behind All-Stars
Hughes added that the only thing White needs is an opportunity to step out of the shadows of his prominent Bulls teammates—namely high-usage wingmen DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
“The only thing he needs to bust out is a chance to play someplace that doesn’t have well-compensated All-Stars and All-Defensive team members ahead of him in the pecking order.” Hughes added.
