Chicago Bulls’ shocking Coby White trade proposed for 2026 deadline

Coby White is in a very interesting spot, one that’s difficult for the Chicago Bulls. Do they commit and overpay for a scoring guard who has possibly reached his ceiling? Do they trade him and lose a true fan favorite? What about letting him walk if the price gets too high?

Unfortunately, a trade is very possible. Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes said White is one of five names likely to dominate the 2026 deadline. The only reason he won’t be is that the Bulls typically don’t do the difficult but necessary thing. Otherwise, all signs point to a deal.

“Playing out the last year of his contract, White is in line to make just $12.9 million in 2025-26. The most Chicago can offer him in an extension is $89 million over four years, based on a starting salary worth 140 percent of that $12.9 million figure. That’s not nearly enough for White, who could easily fetch $25-30 million per season on the open market,” Hughes said.

Of course, the Bulls could offer him that in free agency, but White probably wants to see if there’s a team out there that can get him to play meaningful basketball and finish far from the .500 mark the Bulls have hovered around for what seems like forever.

“Chicago probably should have dealt White at last year’s deadline, or even the one before,” Hughes said. “It was immediately evident that his bargain contract was going to be too small for a realistic extension, and that unrestricted free agency was nearly inevitable.”

Unfortunately, they didn’t do that, so the value of White has dipped with less team control. But when faced with losing White for literally nothing, the Bulls might take a lesser offer even if they’re late to the ball. That means he’s likely going somewhere else in February.