Bill Simmons thinks Chicago Bulls don’t need Coby White

While Coby White would certainly help the Chicago Bulls right now, they’re doing just fine without him. And in the future, they could do the same and save hundreds of millions of dollars to spend elsewhere. That seems to be the takeaway from longtime NBA analyst Bill Simmons, at least.

Simmons said, “If I’m Chicago… I struck oil with Josh Giddey. This is not a sample size, this guy is dominating games… He’s getting where he wants on the court and getting what shot he wants. You’ve got something really special happening here. I don’t want Coby White. I’m not going to pay him next year.”

The analyst said he’d prefer to put his chips into “the Giddey basket” and build around him. He also suggested the Bulls try to trade White, which has been a consideration before. White made himself into a star, but he’s probably going to end up costing the Bulls a little more than he’s worth. In Simmons’ eyes, the Giddey contract and his play make this a non-issue. White can easily be offloaded now, and another team can overpay for him.

His co-host also noted that Matas Buzelis is “everything you could’ve hoped he would be” so far, which makes it easier to move on from White. The Bulls have Giddey’s running mate in Buzelis, which makes White expendable.

Simmons did say that White fits right in with the Bulls’ offensive identity, so it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion that his days are numbered. “They may decide we’re just better off keeping him,” he said. He just believes that White’s affordable expiring contract in a league where “nobody wants to make a trade” could set the Bulls up so nicely that they can’t justify paying White later on.