Jonathan Kuminga has officially ended a months-long negotiation process and returned to the Golden State Warriors on a two-year, $48.5 million deal. In the process, Kuminga all but inadvertently guaranteed that the Chicago Bulls will have to meet Coby White’s asking price in free agency.

Much could change between now and 2026, but White’s request for a salary in the range of $30 million per season is suddenly bordering on impossible to disregard.

Kuminga will make an average of $24.25 million per season—not all that far off from the $25 million annual salary Bulls playmaker Josh Giddey received. Giddey’s deal was already helping White’s case for a lucrative new contract, but Kuminga’s has taken the conversation into a new realm.

White is more experienced than Kuminga while offering a similar skill set, albeit at a different position—and at 25 years of age, he still has youth on his side.

Chicago has already granted one of White’s wishes by making him the primary scoring option after six seasons of rotational inconsistency. That alone could result in White securing a contract that’s even more eye-opening than the $30 million per season he’s reportedly hoping for.

If Kuminga is rated at $24.25 million per season, then White’s case for more is about as open and shut as it can get.

Coby White has realistic salary goal after Jonathan Kuminga’s new deal

Kuminga is a talented young player with upside to explore, as well as immediate value as a scorer. He’s averaged 15.8 points per game and 22.2 per 36 minutes over the past two seasons, and at 23 years of age, still has time to improve.

That’s a valid explanation for why he’s making north of $20 million per season, but it’s also indicative of why White could receive well over $30 million himself.

Despite the fact that 2025-26 will be his seventh NBA season, White is only two years older than Kuminga at 25. He’ll be 26 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer and has the production to not only match, but exceed what Kuminga currently offers.

Over the past two seasons, White has averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.8 three-point field goals made per game on .450/.373/.873 shooting.

While the Warriors are hoping Kuminga will improve his jumper after shooting 33.2 percent from beyond the arc through four seasons, White is a career 36.9 percent shooter. Moreover, he’s proven himself in a variety of roles, adapting to the circumstances presented to him.

That includes the shift White made in 2024-25, when he willingly took a step back as a playmaker to help incorporate Giddey and instead turned in the best scoring season of his career.

Coby White has all of the leverage in negotiations with the Bulls

It’d be easy to write White off as just another volume scorer, but his impact on winning has been undeniable. In 2023-24, former Bulls franchise player Zach LaVine played just seven games between Nov. 30 and the end of the regular season.

Despite his absence, Chicago went 32-28 when White played, with the rising star averaging 20.8 points, 5.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.7 three-point field goals made on .453/.374/.839 shooting.

That trend continued in 2024-25, when White averaged 22.9 points, 5.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.7 three-point field goals made on .453/.374/.839 shooting after LaVine’s final game in Chicago on Jan. 27. The Bulls went 19-15 during the games White played in that time after entering the stretch at 20-27.

It’s the quiet trend that Chicago is struggling to brush under the rug in regard to properly pricing White in free agency: He’s led Chicago to consistent success in a featured role.

Between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, Chicago went 14-2 when White scored at least 30 points and 45-34 when he posted a minimum of 20. By comparison, Chicago was 27-47 when he played and failed to score at least 20 points.

Considering Kuminga signed a deal for $24.25 million per season after receiving multiple healthy scratches in 2024-25, White has leverage the Bulls can no longer ignore.