Spurs could steal $36 million rising star from Chicago Bulls to bolster backcourt

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The San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls are both rebuilding teams, although the Spurs seem to have a competent front office and a franchise player to build around. Both of those assets have eluded the Bulls for most of the 21st century.

San Antonio has a war chest of draft picks, and the consensus around the league is that the clock is ticking and they will eventually flip some picks for a solid player, if not a star, to pair with Victor Wembanyama.

The Spurs’ young core consists of Jeremy Sochan, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell around Wembanyama, and all four of those players are untradeable for now. However, Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones and Zach Collins could all be used to match salary, and their seemingly infinite draft picks could be dangled in a deal. As the Chicago Bulls try to tank for a draft pick and build a core of their own, the Spurs could overpay for Coby White. 

Currently, the Bulls seem to value White as their franchise player, although he is in his sixth NBA season and averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds last season. He also shot 37.6% from behind the arc.

Those are solid numbers, but no one sees White as the franchise player the Bulls can build a long-term winner around. The Spurs could slot White into their lineup next to Vassell, Castle, Sochan and Wembanyama, adding a scoring boost to a roster already filled with defensive talent.

White has two seasons left on his contract before he enters free agency, and his assumed asking price would be too much for the Bulls to match, so it would be better for them to get a sizeable, future-driven return from the Spurs than let him walk for nothing. 

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Jonah Kubicek

Jonah Kubicek has been covering the NBA since 2021 when he was attending Oakland University. He has covered all 30 teams at points but has spent the majority of his time covering the Warriors, Pacers, Rockets, Magic, Jazz, Pistons and his beloved Spurs. He has been published by FanSided, Sports Illustrated, Athlon, GiveMeSport and The Sporting News.