This afternoon, the Chicago Bulls announced that Coby White underwent successful surgery on his left shoulder for a basketball-related injury that occurred away from the team. The team plans to re-evaluate his status in four months.
White is coming off a sophomore season that included ups and downs, but ended with a promising stretch in which he finally showed flashes of being the starting point guard the Bulls envisioned him to be at the beginning of the season. This offseason, many expected him to continue to take strides towards becoming a true NBA point guard.
Zach Lavine even announced that he had invited White and Bulls rookie Patrick Williams to workout together over the summer. That, obviously, will not come to pass, now that White will likely be rehabbing and recovering in preparation for the upcoming season. The silver lining is that the injury occurred to his off-hand shoulder, not his dominant shooting hand.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h1JOOXE1IQ[/embedyt]What Does Coby White’s Injury Mean?
The Chicago Bulls were already making point guard a position of priority before Coby White’s injury. Now, that priority has turned into a must. The pressure is on Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley to make a splash this offseason to give the Bulls a legitimate starting point guard going into a season in which the only point guards slated to be on the roster are Tomas Satoransky and Ryan Arcidiacono.
The Bulls have already expressed interest in trading for EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic, and their interest in Lonzo Ball is well-documented. There are other free agent and trade options available, but now the Bulls are somewhat hamstrung in their ability to put together a trade package for a big-name star like Damian Lillard or the aforementioned Ball brother.
With Coby White’s injury, his trade value has taken a significant hit. If the Bulls were looking to upgrade the point guard position with a trade package that included White, that is likely off the table. The Bulls still have the ability to move Lauri Markkanen in a sign and trade deal, but the idea of pairing Markkanen and White in a trade package (which was rumored to be the offer for Lonzo Ball) is no longer a possibility.
Most importantly, Coby White’s development has taken a hit. The Chicago Bulls are no strangers to offseason rehabs for up-and-coming young players, and White is just the next name in a long line of players who have missed training camp and had disappointing seasons as a result.
White’s timeline is four months until a re-evaluation, not four months until he returns, necessarily. This injury will bleed into training camp and quite possibly the regular season, which starts on October 19th of 2021. Overall, this situation is sad for a young player many were hoping to see take the next step with a full offseason under coach Billy Donovan and ample opportunities to form chemistry with new teammates like Nikola Vucevic and Troy Brown Jr.
We will monitor the status of Coby White’s injury and provide any updates when they are available. Hopefully White is able to make a full recovery and return to the lineup this upcoming season without missing a step.