It has been a constant state of limbo and mediocrity for the Chicago Bulls franchise ever since Lonzo Ball suffered his devastating knee injuries. A once promising team has quickly become underwhelming due to the roster not being prepared to replace Lonzo, poor rotations and inconsistent play from Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. The biggest issue the Bulls had last season was finding someone to distribute the ball the way Lonzo could. The rotation of Alex Caruso, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu all taking turns at point guard was just not working consistently enough to be successful.
However, things have turned around for the Bulls with Zach LaVine out of the lineup for the past month. LaVine’s absence has allowed for more opportunities out of the young guys, and it has been quite apparent by their 10-6 record without him that this current lineup is working well. It has also shown Bulls fans the answer to the question they have been desperately asking, who is the point guard of the Bulls future? Unfortunately, it is not going to be Lonzo Ball. It is not a guy currently playing in college, the G League or overseas. The Bulls point guard of the future is already on the roster, and it is Coby White.
Ever since Zach LaVine has been absent from the starting lineup, Coby White’s statistics have made a huge jump. During the 16 game stretch without LaVine, Coby White has averaged 22.4 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game and 5.8 assists per game. He has also been shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 40.1% from behind the three point line. These numbers are all a huge improvement from last season, as he was averaging just 9.7 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game, a 44.3% field goal percentage and a 37.2% three point percentage. Coby White’s improvement in all of these categories has been spectacular to watch and has put Coby White in the midst of the race for the Most Improved Player award.
It has been apparent that the Bulls have needed to rebuild for a while now, and Zach LaVine has been on the trade block all season. With the 10-6 record the Bulls have had, there is a bit more room for optimism now that Coby White has improved in all facets of his game. This jump in his game poses the question of whether Coby White should be traded in the inevitable rebuild or be a part of the Bulls future plans. I think he is our point guard of the future. Now that he has seen an increase in minutes, the offense has run much smoother through him and he has received enough of an increase in playing time to potentially develop into a star player. I think the best course of action for the Bulls is to trade LaVine and DeMar DeRozan for whatever assets they are able to get and give Coby White, Patrick Williams and the other young guys as many minutes as possible.
We will never know Coby White’s true ceiling with other ball dominant guys on the team, and the team has reached its ceiling without Lonzo. Coby White should be an untouchable for the Bulls rebuild since he has made such improvements from last season in just 16 games, so the idea of him getting the reins for the full season is exciting and a much needed strike of hope for the mediocre Chicago Bulls team.
What are your thoughts on Coby White? Should the Bulls trade him while he’s hot or make him the center of their rebuild? Let me know in the comments.