While most of the big decisions the Chicago Bulls need to make this offseason revolve around the futures of their three big name players, one player who was slated to hit the restricted free agency market and would therefore test how badly Chicago wanted to keep him around was Coby White. The No. 7 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of the University of North Carolina, White has spent his entire NBA career with the Bulls, but has largely been a bench guard whose calling card is offense over the years. On Friday evening, reporting emerged from both ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania that White will return to Chicago on a three-year deal.
Free agent G Coby White has agreed on a three-year, $40 million deal to stay with the Chicago Bulls, his agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/oZoLtnwg8q
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2023
Restricted free agent Coby White has agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal to return to the Chicago Bulls, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2023
The disparity in reported compensation could relate to incentives, though it is consistent that White’s deal is for three years and at least an $11 million annual value. Entering free agency, it was unclear what White’s market was going to look like, and if an opposing team would put an offer in front of him that the Bulls would need to match. As Friday’s start of the league year arrived, there were increasing rumblings White was going to return to Chicago on a new deal.
White saw his time and production take a step back during the 2022-23 season, as the former lottery pick averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. He largely came off the bench for Chicago, with only two of his 74 appearances coming as a member of the starting lineup, and he shot 44.3 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three on 4.6 attempts per game.