UNC Basketball: Chicago Bulls extending point guard Coby White

The Chicago Bulls are extending former UNC basketball standout Coby White. 

The Chicago Bulls have exercised their rookie scale contract options for the 2022-23 season on a pair of players, including third-year point guard Coby White. White is joined by second-year power forward and former Florida State Seminole Patrick Williams in the Bulls’ latest offseason move, one that keeps both players in Chicago for at least the next two years.

White didn’t have the sophomore season in the Windy City that he was hoping for, but he did average 15.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in 69 appearances (54 starts). While White’s numbers improved almost across the board, he didn’t show the kind of improvement — and propensity for being the team’s primary lead guard — that both he and the Bulls organization had hoped for.

It’s the latter that will likely see him begin the upcoming season on the bench, with newly-acquired veteran point guard Lonzo Ball taking White’s position in the starting lineup. That might not be a horrible thing for White or the Bulls, though, as it takes some pressure off of the former Tar Heel in terms of distributing the ball and running the offense, and should allow him to focus more on what he does best.

White has shot better than 35 percent from three-point range in each of his first two seasons, and no worse than 39.4 percent overall. He also improved his accuracy at the free throw line by 11 percent from year one to year two. White is the type of player that Chicago should be able to utilize off the bench as a high-energy, instant-offense option as they look to compete in the Eastern Conference Central Division, which has been absolutely dominated by Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in recent seasons.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Coby White, and UNC basketball alumni throughout the NBA.