The Chicago Bulls' best player could hit free agency next summer. And when he does, much like Josh Giddey this summer, he'll be expecting a raise.
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Veteran Chicago guard Coby White has been the team's not-so-secret weapon for the past two seasons, having thrived whenever Zach LaVine was hurt or, eventually, traded. He is technically eligible for a veteran contract extension until the start of the 2026-27 next summer, but because he could earn an exorbitant pay upgrade beyond what the Bulls could give him in an extension, free agency makes the most sense.
Thanks to the new CBA, which took effect in 2024, players can ink veteran contract extensions with starting salaries worth up to 140 percent of the last year of their current deals. White, however, outperformed his current contract almost instantly.
NBC Sports' Kurt Helin, for one, expects White to avoid inking a veteran extension and hitting free agency.
A 140 percent raise on White's $12,888,889 expiring salary for this season is just $18 million a year — a fair rate, sure, but probably less than White can fetch on the open market, as a durable score-first, downhill guard who doesn't over-dribble, can play either on or off the ball, and seems to have a fringe All-Star ceiling if put in the right situation.
In 74 healthy games last year for the 39-43 Bulls, the 6-foot-5 Duke product averaged a career-most 20.4 points on borderline-elite .453/.370/.902 shooting splits, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 steals a night.
Helin reveals that White is angling for a deal that would be dwarf his current contract.
"White signed a three-year, $36 million contract coming off shoulder surgery, a deal he has completely outplayed," Helin writes. "He is expecting to get paid next summer, reportedly he is looking for something in the $30+ million a year range, and even if the final number falls short of that, expect a significant pay increase for the young guard."
Chicago is currently in the midst of tense negotiations with restricted free agent starting point guard Josh Giddey. The Bulls reportedly tendered him a four-year, $80 million deal, while Giddey and his representatives are angling to earn something more in the vicinity of $30 million yearly.
Helin believes that, especially if Giddey talks go south, the Bulls could be very interested in locking White in to a long-term deal. And even if Chicago cheaps out, White should earn plenty of interest elsewhere.
"The Bulls might try to lock him up, depending on what happens with restricted free agent Josh Giddey, but one way or another, White is going to get paid," Helin writes.
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