The Chicago Bulls made a late move ahead of the trade deadline, sending Coby White and Mike Conley Jr. to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng (who was flipped shortly after), and what was originally three second-round picks. But after White's post-trade physical revealed a calf injury, the two teams adjusted the deal-Charlotte held onto one of those second-rounders, leaving Chicago with just two.
Now, if you thought the Bulls were already getting a light return for a 25-year-old guard who’s shown real flashes of offensive upside, that package just got a little thinner.
This move didn’t come out of nowhere. White had turned down an extension before the season, reportedly seeking a bigger payday.
The Bulls, not wanting to lose him for nothing in free agency or lock themselves into a price they weren’t comfortable with, chose to move him now. The hope in Chicago’s front office was that White might net a first-round pick.
That didn’t materialize-and they didn’t come especially close.
Instead, they walk away with Sexton-a solid scorer but not a long-term fit-and two second-round picks. And even that was a step down from the original deal, thanks to the injury discovery. It’s a tough pill to swallow for a franchise that drafted White seventh overall back in 2019 and once envisioned him as a key piece of their rebuild.
The picks Chicago did receive, according to reports, are both from the 2031 draft-one from the New York Knicks, the other from the Denver Nuggets. That’s a long wait for potential value.
And while second-rounders can occasionally turn into gems (Nikola Jokić, anyone?), banking on that kind of lottery-ticket luck isn’t exactly a strategy. Especially not for a team that’s struggled to build consistent momentum over the last few seasons.
The bigger issue here might not be the trade itself, but the timing. The Bulls had chances to move White earlier-last season’s deadline, this past summer-when his value may have been higher. Instead, they waited, and the result is a return that feels more like damage control than forward progress.
As for Sexton, he showed some of what he can bring by dropping 17 points in a recent loss to Denver. He’s a talented scorer who plays with energy, but with his own contract set to expire, there’s no guarantee he’s part of the Bulls’ future either.
In the end, this trade leaves Chicago with two distant second-round picks and a rental-level guard for a former top-10 pick. It’s a move that underscores the challenges this front office faces in asset management and roster construction. Now, it’s on them to make something meaningful out of this return-because if they don’t, it’s just another missed opportunity in a stretch that’s had too many of them.