The Chicago Bulls gave up Coby White for an even lower return after their trade with the Charlotte Hornets was amended this weekend.
After White underwent his necessary on-boarding physical examination Friday, the Hornets determined he will need to miss part of this season because of his lingering calf issues. The injuries began with a right calf strain suffered in summer workouts and sidelined White for almost half of this season. Hornets President Jeff Peterson told reporters White will not play until after the All-Star break.
As a result, the Bulls and the Hornets amended the original trade from Wednesday to include two — rather than three — second-round picks in the deal (in addition to Collin Sexton). The determined picks for the revised trade are a 2031 second-rounder from the New York Knicks and a 2031 second-rounder from the Denver Nuggets, according to The Athletic.
This is a cautionary tale of the risks of being risk-averse. The Bulls could have — and should have — traded White last February when the guard’s value hit an all-time high as he thrived in a secondary-guard role alongside Josh Giddey and Zach LaVine.
But the Bulls front office remained wary of giving up one of their cornerstone young players too early, emphasizing the importance of “evaluating” their talent while refusing to take a step backward to pursue higher draft picks. Waiting ultimately meant taking another risk: that White could suffer an injury that would devalue him on the trade market.
Three second-rounders already felt like an undersell for White, who was one of the best player-development stories for the Bulls in recent years. Dropping that value to only two draft picks is a delayed gut-punch for a team attempting to begin a rebuild on the right foot.
