The Chicago Bulls made a flurry of moves this summer, all in the hopes of improving their roster around Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. They made a commitment to pushing forward at the end of last season, as Arturas Karnisovas made it clear that he did not want to rebuild the roster.
In free agency, the Bulls brought in Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig to provide them with some depth off the bench, and a few days prior, they re-signed Vucevic to a new extension. On top of that, the Bulls re-signed point guard Coby White to a new contract.
According to Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation, the value of White’s contract will largely depend on his continued development.
“There was some confusion with Coby White’s contract when he first re-signed with the Bulls on June 30th,” Schuster wrote. “Shams Charania first reported that it was a three-year deal worth $33 million, then Woj reported it was a three-year, $40 million deal. Unsurprisingly, K.C. Johnson had it right reporting it was three years worth potentially $40 million. Today we learned from Spotrac that White’s deal guarantees him $36 million, and he can earn up to $39.9 million in incentives. If the Bulls get the Coby White we saw in the second half of the season last year, they’re getting him on a great deal. White’s defense improved greatly down the stretch, and he took major strides offensively as the lead guard running the second unit. His ball handling and running of the offense took a major step forward. I’m excited to see how he continues to develop next season, remember he’s still just 23 years old.”
White played well at the end of this past season, but can he play at that level consistently?