Just two months ago, I was firmly on the side of extending Coby White. Now, the Chicago Bulls need to trade him... immediately. Not because he’s a bad player, a locker-room issue, or someone holding the team back, but because he is the only asset of real value on a roster stuck in NBA purgatory. White has done everything right: he developed, stayed professional and became a reliable scorer and shooter. Ironically, that’s exactly why the Bulls can’t afford to keep him. His contract expires at season’s end, and he’s poised to command over $30 million per year. Paying that kind of money to a team going nowhere isn’t just going to hamper the Bulls in the short term; it could delay the inevitable by a half-decade.

The hard truth is this: the Bulls don’t have trade leverage anywhere else. Josh Giddey just signed a four-year, $100 million extension and isn’t moving. Nikola Vučević’ slow-post, old-school game has little demand in a league obsessed with spacing and pace. Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins and Jevon Carter are fine rotation pieces, but not assets that change a franchise’s outlook. That leaves White as the lone chip that still has league-wide interest, even if that interest only nets a mid-to-late first-round pick. And yes, that return may be underwhelming, but it’s far better than the Bulls’ specialty: letting assets walk for nothing. At season's end, the Bulls can potentially free up just over $90 million. This is enough to net a big free agent, but that's also something the Bulls have never accomplished.

Holding onto White also continues to block the very thing this franchise claims to value: development. Matas Buzelis looked like a future building block late in his rookie season, only to regress as minutes and responsibility vanished. Dalen Terry andJulian Phillips can’t grow if they’re stuck playing spare minutes behind veterans who don’t fit a long-term plan. Ayo Dosunmu, a pending free agent, should be retained on a team-friendly deal and not overshadowed by a roster still pretending to compete. You can’t rebuild halfway, and the Bulls have lived in that gray area for years.

What makes the situation worse is the looming roster cliff. After this season, the Bulls have six players — Vučević, White, Huerter, Dosunmu, Carter and Collins — who could all be unrestricted free agents. Outside of White, none carry first-round value. If the Bulls wait, they risk watching their most valuable piece leave while the rest of the roster depreciates further. This isn’t about tanking or giving up; it’s about finally choosing a direction. Trading Coby White isn’t controversial. It’s overdue.