The Chicago Bulls must tackle the next stretch of the season without star guard Coby White.
White underwent re-evaluation by the Bulls medical staff earlier this week after a two-week delay to his return from a left calf strain suffered in August. The results were positive — coach Billy Donovan said the guard is able to accelerate, stop, cut and plant his feet in non-contact drills without any pain or discomfort.
Yet despite that improvement, White is still “a couple weeks” away from being cleared to play in a game. This timeline means the guard will likely miss at least seven more games, including Tuesday’s matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I watched him today — he is sprinting, running, cutting, jumping, trying to do everything completely full speed,” Donovan said. “He’s felt really, really good.”
Donovan doesn’t want to label the last delay as a “setback.” But regardless of verbiage, the Bulls are still facing steep uncertainty regarding White’s return to play.
Two weeks ago, White reported the same lack of symptoms when he was initially cleared to return to contact. He participated in one practice on Oct. 18 and voiced optimism about playing in the home opener the following week. Two days later, ensuing stiffness forced the medical team to shut him down for another two-week reevaluation period.
The medical team is hopeful that an extended ramp-up period will prevent White from suffering the same discomfort after practices. White began non-contact basketball activities in the last week and Donovan anticipates that he will return to practice next week during a three-day break between a Nov. 12 home game against the Detroit Pistons and a Nov. 16 road game against the Utah Jazz.
“This has just taken a while,” Donovan said. “I think you can see around the league, there’s a lot of guys dealing with these calves right now. It’s just the way it is.”
The Bulls started the season 5-1 without White, who was expected to continue as the team’s leading scorer after averaging 20.4 points and 4.5 assists per game last season. Although the offense fared well in his absence, the Bulls know White’s scoring will be a necessary buoy to remain consistent throughout the season.
This is a high-stakes season for White, whose three-year, $36 million deal will expire next summer. White has always expressed a desire to remain in Chicago for the long term, a sentiment that was echoed by vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas during the preseason.
The reality is more complicated. The Bulls already re-signed Josh Giddey to a four-year $100 million deal this year, which limits their flexibility to give White a similarly lucrative deal. And after seeing only one playoff series through his first five seasons in Chicago, White could hit free agency with a heightened hunger to participate in a deep postseason run.
The outcome of this season — for White and the Bulls as a whole — will determine whether this pair is still a natural fit moving forward. But that evaluation can’t begin until the guard gets back into games.
Whenever White returns, he will be held to a strict minutes restriction. And after nearly three months off the court, Donovan knows to expect some growing pains out of his longest-tenured player.
“He’s going to have to give himself some grace,” Donovan said. “(He can’t) sit there and think that he’s going to be at his normal form as a player. It’s going to take him some time. He needs to be patient with himself because he really holds himself to a very high standard.”