NBA analyst picks Chicago Bulls’ best asset and a trade proposal

Among every draft pick and player on the Chicago Bulls’ roster, nothing carries more value right now than Coby White, according to Bleacher Report insider Zach Buckley. What could they get for him? Nikola Jovic and Simone Fontecchio from the Miami Heat.

“Prior to the additions of Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue, White arguably looked like Chicago’s most promising building block,” Buckley said. “Yet, the 25-year-old no longer seems cemented into the long-term plans, due in no small part to the fact unrestricted free agency awaits him after the upcoming season.” Josh Giddey can attest to how difficult that is.

With how the Bulls have seen the Giddey situation go, they might be motivated to move White before that happens. “They could be getting quite a bit here, as Jovic has flashed a really interesting mix of size (6’10”), shot-making and ball-handling, and Fontecchio holds obvious bounce-back potential after losing more than six points off of his three-point percentage (33.5, down from 40.1 in 2023-24),” Buckley added, indicating that the Bulls really do come out in a decent spot despite moving on from their star.

Miami might also be motivated to move Jovic because of his pending contract extension as well as the fit with Kel’el Ware and Bam Adebayo. “The Heat had an opportunistic offseason, but they could still use the kind of on-ball creation that White brings,” Buckley concluded.

While moving on from White would sting, this sort of trade would save them some money in the immediate future and give them a young player to build around. Plus, Fontecchio is not a bad complementary piece, either. If Chicago did this, it would require some forethought, though, and that’s not been very common.