The Detroit Pistons could look to upgrade the shooting guard position at the trade deadline, and Coby White is an intriguing target.
And he’s available, at least according to Marc Stein (subscription) who had this to say about the Bulls guard “...the Bulls have left the impression with rival teams inquiring about Coby White that they are more open to trading White than they've ever been.
White is earning $12.9 million this season on the final year on his modest current contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in July, which naturally complicates Chicago's ability to get back as much as it would hope for White.”
White potentially checks a lot of boxes for the type of move the Pistons will be willing to make, as he has a contract that would be easy to absorb and doesn’t have any long-term obligations. Chicago has no leverage here, so the Pistons might be able to get White at a bargain.
He’s a proven and consistent 20+ppg scorer, who has been a reliable volume 3-point shooter for his career, though he has struggled so far this season. He’s also a guy who can be a secondary creator, as he’s averaging over five assists per game.
He’s essentially providing what the Pistons hoped Jaden Ivey would be providing at this point in the season, and Detroit could potentially cash in Ivey for an instant upgrade, though that would come with some clear risks.
Would the Pistons trade Jaden Ivey for a short-term upgrade?
It’s hard to see Trajan Langdon going big at the trade deadline, as the rumored options are expensive and could potentially cause more harm than good when you factor in continuity and team chemistry.
But Jaden Ivey will be a restricted free agent after the season and has yet to get back to form after returning from his injury. He’s only been playing 14-15 minutes a game, hasn’t shot the ball well and has had a hard time fitting into the bench offense with Caris LeVert.
Ivey does deserve more patience here, as he’s trying to come back from a tough injury while figuring out how he fits into a team that had moved on without him, which isn’t easy. JB Bickerstaff has been given the challenging (but enviable) task of figuring out how to keep all of these guys happy without disrupting what is working.
White has played a similar number of games as Ivey this season but is playing almost 30 minutes a game and is already stacking 20+ppg performances.
The potential risks here are obvious: There’s a chance that Ivey ends up being better than White, or at least providing similar production, potentially at a lower cost. White is also an unrestricted free agent, while Ivey is restricted, so flipping him in a deal for White would be trading a player under team control for one that will hit the open market.
I’m not sure White is enough of an upgrade for that risk, especially when we’ve not seen the best of Ivey, and Trajan Langdon has shown an unwillingness to break up his core for short-term gains.