Coby White Trade to Hornets From Bulls Reportedly Amended After Physical Reveals Injury

The Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets have reportedly amended their trade involving Coby White.

According to The Athletic's Fred Katz, the trade sending White and Mike Conley Jr. to the Hornets in exchange for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and three second-round picks has been amended after a physical showed White had a left calf injury and will miss time.

The Hornets are now sending the Bulls two second-round picks instead of three.

Before news of the trade, Sexton said he wanted to remain with the Hornets, according to The Charlotte Observer's Roderick Boone:

"I definitely love it here," Sexton said. Love it in Charlotte. Close to home. I just love being a part of something, being a part of culture change. I like being able to come in and be a vet to the young guys. Be able to show them hard work pays off and also be able to be there for them through the ups, through the downs, through the wins, through the losses."

White is in the midst of another solid offensive season. Through 29 appearances, he's averaging 18.6 points and 4.7 assists, and he's shooting 43.8 percent from the field (34.6 on three-pointers).

The 6'4" playmaker has been a steady producer ever since he became a full-time starter for Chicago in 2023-24. The Bulls' front office has made plenty of mistakes, but signing him to a three-year, $36 million extension proved to be a savvy play.

Nonetheless, the writing was on the wall as to White's future in the Windy City.

Chicago is once again on pace to have a season in which it's stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity. At 24-27, the Bulls are 10th in the Eastern Conference, and few would consider them to be a contender of any merit.

If they weren't going to be a big buyer at the NBA trade deadline, then they needed to cash in on what expiring contracts they could. White fell into that group as he's months away from free agency.

He acknowledged to the Chicago Tribune's Julia Poe in January he may no longer be part of the organization's long-term plans.

"I'm getting older," he said. "I'm about to be 26, so I'm not really that young in the league anymore in terms of being in the NBA. … It depends on what direction they go in. If they just go into the total rebuild and go really young, super young, and just try to build over the years — if they feel like that's what's best for the organization, that's it."

Beyond the age factor, the front office had to consider whether paying White what's likely to be his market value was a good investment when it already handed Josh Giddey $100 million over four years.

Having White and Giddey combine to average $50-plus million annually wouldn't wreck the payroll but would complicate the process of filling out the supporting cast around Giddey and young forward Matas Buzelis.

As good as White has been, he wasn't an untouchable member of the Bulls' core, so cashing in now was better than waiting until the summer and either watching him leave as a free agent or handing him a contract that could age badly for the team.

The Hornets, who are riding a seven-game winning streak, will now add White to a core that features LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.