Familiar story for struggling franchise: White improved, Bulls didn’t

Coby White improved his game. The Bulls didn't join him.

White became a positive locker room presence, who always pointed the finger at himself if things went poorly. The Bulls decided it wasn't working.

Individual success, organizational failure — pretty much the story of this franchise for the past 11 years. And that's why White made his Charlotte Hornets debut in Tuesday’s return to the United Center, a 131-99 victory over the Bulls.

White scored 10 points in just over 15 minutes. After watching the requisite tribute video during the game's first time out, White quickly turned away from the cameras and sat down on the bench.

Meanwhile, the Bulls losing streak reached 10 in a row, the longest since 2018-19, not long after Jim Boylen took over for Fred Hoiberg. Matas Buzelis was the only Bulls bright spot with 32 points.

After being chosen by the Bulls with the No. 7 overall pick in 2019, White saw his role change constantly between point guard and off guard, starting and coming off the bench. His numbers crated in his fourth season, when he averaged just 9.7 points. But then he made a quick jump, averaging 19.1 and 20.4 points the next two years.

“I want to just be an inspiration to guys who maybe early on, didn't pan out like everybody thought they would, and then you prove a lot of people wrong,” White said. “I had to develop, I had to really work, and had so many different roles.

“So I just want to be an inspiration to the development part of it, the part when everybody counts you out, that you've still got time to always change the narrative.”

Nothing is changing about the Bulls' narrative anytime soon, unless they get some lottery luck in May. After gifting a massive contract to Zach LaVine, the Bulls had better results behind White, a relative bargain at $12.9 million.

But instead of riding an individual success story to more wins, the Bulls felt their situation was futile enough to trade White to Charlotte for Collin Sexton, who may not even stick with the Bulls beyond this season, and a pair of 2031 second-round draft picks.

Maybe the results would have been different if not for the calf strain that caused White to miss all of training camp and the first 11 games of the regular season. We'll never know.

“You could always live in what could have been,” White said. “I've kind of learned through my life that what could have been brings you nothing but anxiousness and worry. That's just how the chips fell. The calf strain was out of my control. I don't really try to live in what could have been.”

When White got to Charlotte and went through the typical NBA post-trade physical exam, the Hornets decided he had another calf strain, which kept him sidelined until Tuesday. White played 30 minutes in his last game with the Bulls on Feb. 3 in Milwaukee, but didn't put any blame on the Bulls medical staff.

“If I would have never got traded, I probably would have never even said anything about it, because I thought it was just tightness,” White said. “It was nobody's fault. It was never hindering me from playing.”

Early February was an odd stretch for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic and Kevin Huerter were traded and left the team before that game in Milwaukee. White was sent to Charlotte a day later, then Ayo Dosunmu and Julian Phillips were the next to go, moved to Minnesota.

After losing to the Bucks, White sat at his locker for a long time, feet soaking in an ice bucket, staring straight ahead.

“I had a feeling it was (his last game with Bulls),” White said. “I kind of had a feeling. You could read between the lines. It ain't hard in this league and this business to see what's kind of going on. But I'm thankful for the organization and for them believing in me.”

Bulls coach Billy Donovan had some kind parting words for White before the game.

“I'm just happy he's back healthy playing,” Donovan said. “I love the guy, loved my time with him. I enjoyed seeing his growth and his development as a player and how hard he worked and how tough and resilient he was mentally.”

Donovan updated the status of a couple injured Bulls newcomers. He said Anfernee Simons has a broken bone in his hand, an old injury that is not completely healed, and should play again once the pain subsides. Jaden Ivey is working to build strength in his right knee and could return in a few weeks.