Coby White has leveled up again?

[SpongeWorthy]

Read on Twitter

This is different from his other streaks in the past. I understand anyone bringing up his streaky play from years prior, but he is getting his points differently, more efficiently, and he simply stated, LOOKS different.

Regardless of what level of player he actually is…Bulls have to keep him barring an unforeseen scenario unfolding with him next season. Bulls never sign superstars or high end all stars, we don’t have great draft capital stashed currently either. He’s a game changer at the very least and we have struggled to find those type of players. Not to mention he’s been extremely loyal and professional.

I am seeing this a lot and i am struggling to see what is different about this? Its like you want it to be true so badly you convince yourself this is new. Sure he was at like 32% from 3 for the beginning of the run & that was different from the last hot streaks, but in his last 13 games he is 40% from 3. He was always trying to get to the basket. Its not like he was a jump shooter. He hasn't been trying to be a PG for awhile now. Sure when you are scoring 10 more ppg then normal things will look better. But he's still the same player.

He’s a career 2.8 FTA per 36 for his career he’s closer to 7 FTA per 36 the last ~20 games. That is a massive difference.

[Daxel]

Coby has an all time high trade value for him.
He has proven many times how streaky he is and always comes back to earth.
Regardless of that, if he finishes the season playing like that then its time to trade him or at least test the market, you never know what return value you'll get until you offer something.

[boozapalooza]

Coby has an all time high trade value for him.
He has proven many times how streaky he is and always comes back to earth.
Regardless of that, if he finishes the season playing like that then its time to trade him or at least test the market, you never know what return value you'll get until you offer something.

Agreed. He could be a major trade piece for a big time player like Ja, Zion, Sabonis (to a lesser extent), other stars who may hit the market. Its crazy to think that is possible, but with how well hes playing, on an expiring 12 million salary next year, thats got some real value these days.

The true test will be, can he keep up this level of play in the playoffs….. (same with Giddey). I honestly think both of them can. It doesnt mean were gonna win, but it will be a good measuring stick.

[Dan Z]

Coby has an all time high trade value for him.
He has proven many times how streaky he is and always comes back to earth.
Regardless of that, if he finishes the season playing like that then its time to trade him or at least test the market, you never know what return value you'll get until you offer something.

Agreed. He could be a major trade piece for a big time player like Ja, Zion, Sabonis (to a lesser extent), other stars who may hit the market. Its crazy to think that is possible, but with how well hes playing, on an expiring 12 million salary next year, thats got some real value these days.

The true test will be, can he keep up this level of play in the playoffs….. (same with Giddey). I honestly think both of them can. It doesnt mean were gonna win, but it will be a good measuring stick.

If the Bulls trade Coby then what's the goal? Is it to get one of those players you mentioned above?

Is it worth it to trade Coby plus picks plus contract filler for one of them?

I'm not sure if Ja would work well with Giddey, but maybe I'm wrong about that...? Zion is too injury prone for me to trade for him unless it was a great deal (it won't be). I like Sabonis, but do the Bulls need another center like that (even though he's better than Vucevic)?

[NecessaryEvil]

Read on Twitter

[NecessaryEvil]

Ja’s got some issues he needs to take care of. I’d rather not, now Zion on the other hand …..

[Stratmaster]

Ay, you guys sure you don't wanna pay Coby?? cuz holy s**t lol

At the risk of being labeled a hater, we've seen him go on extended stretches of high level play many times over his career. Up to this point he's always eventually reverted to the mean. Maybe this time is different, but maybe it's not.

If he can play at this level for an entire season then the discussions about maxing him will have merit. If not, you run the risk of potentially crippling the franchise financially for a streaky player. You should try to avoid maxing non-max players whenever possible. We gave Zach a max and almost immediately regretted and spent years trying to move him. Are we trying to get back to that situation?

Coby's a very good player, but a stretch of high level play in the dog days of the season against a lot of tanking teams isn't enough to justify maxing him.

Imagine we give Coby the bag and it turns out it was just another one of his hot stretches. Suddenly we're looking at Coby, Pat, and Giddey (another guy who's been playing great as of late but has question marks on his own) taking up the majority of our cap.

You have to take emotion out of it and look at it logically. Not just "what have you done for me lately" but the whole picture and projecting into the future. I feel like a lot of this discussion is emotionally charged.

Well stated. I will add that at least Giddey hasvelite rebounding and what could evolve into elite playmaking skills should his scoring come back to earth. If Coby isn't hot and chucking he brings less of the other benefits to the table.

Still, I sound like a Coby hater. Just like I did last season. I like Coby as a scorer and his attitude toward the game. I just think too many get carried away every time he has a stretch like this. I hope I am wrong and he comes out of the gate hot next season and stays that way.

[2weekswithpay]

Idk how much different their stats are but Coby seems to be a vastly superior scorer to Zach. Coby doesn't require hitting trash shots and just being on a heater. Sometimes you look up and your like damn Coby has 25 already? It feels sustainable in the regular season to me. Idk if he can do it against playoff comp or not but vs avg teams, he can.

Making tough shots is part of being a good player. Zach was and still is a slightly better scorer across the board. If Coby was a vastly superior scorer, he'd be an All-NBA caliber player.

[jump]

I see no reason to trade Coby unless you're getting a top 15 player. I'm not saying he's top 15, but he's playing exactly like the kind of player we want to go with Giddy and Buzelis. I certainly wouldn't trade him for a draft pick, unless it's for Flag or maybe Harper. Nobody is going to give up those kinds of assets for Coby. As for the anxiety about his streakiness, I'm convinced he's been playing lately like the play he is. It's not a streak.

[RSP83]

My takeaway from this Coby post AS break experience is:

• Coby has indeed reached a new level (it's been deeply discussed in this thread what changes)

• Still can't really tell this team's ceiling. But we know what this team's floor is with this new Coby, 10th - 7th seed team in the East. Maximum 6th seed in the East. I can see a mid-40 win team like the current Detroit Pistons. But this is assuming Matas and Giddey does not improve and just maintain their current level of production.

[Chi town]

No way would I trade Coby for Ja or Zion. Both of those guys represent everything wrong with the league. Player empowerment that has become entitlement at the expense of fans.

Coby and Giddey are everything that is right with hoops and the league. Hard work and slow progress playing with heart and hustle. It’s almost like Hoosiers. They probably won’t be good enough and we know AK won’t be but I can get behind them and at least enjoy the way they play as a hoops purist.

[WindyCityBorn]

Ja’s got some issues he needs to take care of. I’d rather not, now Zion on the other hand …..

Zion hasn’t played more than 30 games in the last 4 seasons. He’s a gigantic bust. It doesn’t matter how talented you are if you don’t play. I wouldn’t give the Pelicans any of remote significance for him. It would be even worse than the Vuc trade because at least he played.

[WindyCityBorn]

No way would I trade Coby for Ja or Zion. Both of those guys represent everything wrong with the league. Player empowerment that has become entitlement at the expense of fans.

Coby and Giddey are everything that is right with hoops and the league. Hard work and slow progress playing with heart and hustle. It’s almost like Hoosiers. They probably won’t be good enough and we know AK won’t be but I can get behind them and at least enjoy the way they play as a hoops purist.

Agreed Ja is an idiot/nota leader and Zion is falling apart in his mid 20s.

The last thing we need to do is look for quick fix. I want the same roster back next season plus our draft picks. Summer 2026 is the year to make significant moves after a full season to evaluate this new team

[Dez]

F*** winning a championship as long as we have fun!

I'd rather take a punt on Zion's health than re-sign Coby for what he's going to want. Zion was in excellent shape and then the Pelicans shut him down for tanking purposes.

[wolffy]

Idk how much different their stats are but Coby seems to be a vastly superior scorer to Zach. Coby doesn't require hitting trash shots and just being on a heater. Sometimes you look up and your like damn Coby has 25 already? It feels sustainable in the regular season to me. Idk if he can do it against playoff comp or not but vs avg teams, he can.

Making tough shots is part of being a good player. Zach was and still is a slightly better scorer across the board. If Coby was a vastly superior scorer, he'd be an All-NBA caliber player.

I disagree Zachs scoring is almost all shot making which isn't bad but he can't finish thru contact, doesn't draw fouls, and takes terrible shots. Coby might not score more but he's still better at it.

But with that said, I'd still predict White to outscore Zach next season.

[2weekswithpay]

Idk how much different their stats are but Coby seems to be a vastly superior scorer to Zach. Coby doesn't require hitting trash shots and just being on a heater. Sometimes you look up and your like damn Coby has 25 already? It feels sustainable in the regular season to me. Idk if he can do it against playoff comp or not but vs avg teams, he can.

Making tough shots is part of being a good player. Zach was and still is a slightly better scorer across the board. If Coby was a vastly superior scorer, he'd be an All-NBA caliber player.

I disagree Zachs scoring is almost all shot making which isn't bad but he can't finish thru contact, doesn't draw fouls, and takes terrible shots. Coby might not score more but he's still better at it.

But with that said, I'd still predict White to outscore Zach next season.

Coby's shot profile vs Zach's.

Being a good scorer and a good shotmaker go hand in hand. Even now, Zach gets to the rim more than Coby and shoots better on those shots. Coby getting to the line is the only advantage he has over Zach.

[Onibuh]

why would we trade a 25 year old player we need on the roster? If think its clear they won't tank, I don't think you can trade him for a Top15 player and I wouldn't gamble on guys with issues that get paid or will get paid - like Coby.

[DuckIII]

Ja’s got some issues he needs to take care of. I’d rather not, now Zion on the other hand …..

I love Ja. I have some sentimental reasons for that as an Austin Peay alum since Murray State was always our big rival. And I feel like I “discovered” him, touting him a full year before he blew up as having NBA star potential.

That said, you can’t have Ja and Giddey on the same team. Thats not a workable pairing.

[League Circles]

Ja’s got some issues he needs to take care of. I’d rather not, now Zion on the other hand …..

I love Ja. I have some sentimental reasons for that as an Austin Peay alum since Murray State was always our big rival. And I feel like I “discovered” him, touting him a full year before he blew up as having NBA star potential.

That said, you can’t have Ja and Giddey on the same team. Thats not a workable pairing.

Thank you. Somewhat similar to SGA and Giddey. Giddey only makes sense as the lead ball handler. If he's not gonna be that for a team, the team should move him. That's why I'm not so interested in some of the PG prospects likely to be available in our range. Can't remember names cause all I do is watch draft scouting videos, but guys like Fears, Kasparas Jakucionis, even Harper should we get lucky, all seem like they'd help us way less than the sum of the parts due primarily to Giddey, but also considering Coby, Ball, and possibly Jones.

[MGB8]

Hornets Lineup last night was Miles Bridges, Mark Williams (solid, but they tried to trade him), Seth Curry (career journeyman, great shooter), Okogie (young journeyman, hasn’t been able to stick), and 2nd round rookie KJ Simpson at point, who is averaging 8 ppg and 3 apg o. 36% shooting. Salaun and Nurkic were the only other notable players who got in.

Point being, it is great that the team is looking better and Coby is putting up big numbers. Fortunately, we have next year to see if that translates into something beyond a bump from end-of-season-garbage-time. I think it may - he is definitely improved in many ways - but I don’t think there is a big chance that he is a season long efficient 26/4/4 guy.

I think his current annual stats (which include the current elevated play) are likely an accurate reflection of where Coby is at. And that is a good player… but Jordan Poole, Cam Thomas, Norm Powell, McCullom, DeRozan, Miles Bridges, John Collins (a F, I know), Tyler Herro are all at (or a bit above) that same ballpark. Ingram and RJ Barrett too, with more on the boards and assists… Quickley with way more assists.

And not far behind are a bunch of other guys who if they kept up pace laying 10-20% more minutes would be right there with Coby, too, like Colin Sexton