Bulls-Hornets Trade Adjustment Raises Questions About Chicago's Handling of Coby White Injury
While the Bulls’ trade deadline activity didn’t include any blockbuster moves, one detail that flew under the radar might just say more about the state of the front office than any major splash could.
Last week, the Bulls and Hornets made a quiet amendment to the deal that sent Coby White to Charlotte. After White’s physical revealed a left calf injury, the Hornets opted to tweak the terms of the trade. Instead of sending three second-round picks to Chicago, Charlotte will now hold onto the 2029 pick (the least favorable of their own or Denver’s) and still send the Bulls two second-rounders in 2031 (from Denver and New York).
On paper, it’s a small adjustment - the ninth second-round pick moved at the deadline, not exactly headline-grabbing stuff. But the implications run deeper, especially when you consider how the Bulls handled White’s injury leading up to the trade.
Let’s set the stage: White, who turns 26 later this month and is in a contract year, had played in 11 of the Bulls’ last 12 games before the trade. That includes both legs of a back-to-back on January 28 and 29, and notably, a 30-minute outing in a blowout loss after the Bulls had already agreed to trade him. That’s where things get murky.
Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson made it clear that White is expected to sit out through the All-Star break to recover. So why was he logging heavy minutes in late January games that had little bearing on the Bulls’ season trajectory?
There are a couple of ways to interpret this. Either the Bulls didn’t believe the calf injury was as serious as Charlotte did, or they prioritized short-term wins in a season where they were already signaling a sell-off. Neither explanation paints the front office in a great light.
This isn’t the first time we've seen a post-physical trade tweak like this. Last season, the Sixers adjusted compensation in a deal for Caleb Martin after health concerns, and the Hornets themselves had a trade involving Mark Williams voided due to injury worries.
But those situations didn’t involve players actively suiting up in the days before the deadline. White was playing - and playing significant minutes - despite a lingering injury that ultimately impacted the trade return.
What’s more, the Bulls never publicly addressed the amendment. It wasn’t mentioned in executive Artūras Karnišovas’ post-deadline comments, and head coach Billy Donovan wasn’t asked about it during the team’s next media availability. That silence adds another layer of frustration for fans and observers looking for accountability.
There was even a natural opportunity to bring it up. On the night the news surfaced, the Bulls were hosting a home game - and Jalen Smith, who also played in that same late-January Bucks game, was held out with a calf issue of his own.
The parallels were right there. Was Smith being handled more cautiously than White?
Did he aggravate an injury too? No one asked.
These seemingly small moments add up, especially when a team is already struggling to find direction. The Bulls have been hovering around .500 for what feels like forever, and while the big-picture issues - like failing to land star talent or mishandling cap space - get most of the attention, the smaller missteps matter too. Especially when they involve player health and the trust of other front offices.
The amended trade doesn’t just reflect a difference in medical opinion - it underscores a pattern. From the tampering penalty involving Lonzo Ball to confusion over his contract extension, and now this, the Bulls’ front office continues to stumble on both the macro and micro levels.
At some point, ownership has to take a hard look at the cumulative effect of these decisions. Because when you’re not winning, and you’re not executing the little things with care, the margin for error disappears fast.