Coby White not worried about lack of contract extension, playing out this year with ‘carefree’ mindset
Former UNC basketball standout guard Coby White begins his final season in Chicago under his rookie contract after not agreeing to an extension in time.
The fourth-year guard not reaching an agreement wasn’t a total surprise and now White is playing the 2022-23 season in hopes of hitting free agency as a hot commodity.
White spoke to reporters ahead of the start of the Bulls’ season-opener last week on the topic of his contract.
“No, no. I didn’t,” White said when asked if he thought an extension would happen before the deadline. “I wasn’t really focused on that. Just play this year out. I put in a lot of work this summer, so let my work show, and take it from there.”
White is a 13.6 point-per game scorer in his career, doing so mainly as a sixth-man or reserve player. He has started just 72 of the 199 career games under his belt.
Despite not having a new contract, White is focused on one thing — winning.
“Like I’ve been saying, I’m just here to help my team win,” White said. “Whatever I can do to help my teammates become better versions of themselves and a better version of the team, I’m willing to do that… I look at everything in life as opportunity. For me, it’s just to go out there and play my game and help my team win. And when my number is called just be ready and whenever I get an opportunity just be ready. That’s how I would look at it.”
The 6-foot-4 guard has struggled to open up this year, averaging just 6.3 points on 34.6 percent shooting from the field in 22.3 minutes per game.
Despite the criticism that seemed to ramp up last year regarding his lack of consistency, White set career-highs in overall field-goal percentage (43.3) and three-point percentage (38.5) while averaging 12.7 points and 2.9 assists per game.
White was the main topic in a lot of potential trade deadline deals last year and that will certainly be the case once again this season.
No matter what happens, however, the former No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 draft will continue to be happy playing the game he loves.
“Nah, I love playing basketball. That’s all the motivation I need,” White said. “I love playing, I love hooping. I’ve had motivation my whole life. I ain’t gonna change nothing now.”
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