Amid ongoing negotiations between the Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey have come rumors that Giddey’s backcourt mate, Coby White, will be looking for his own massive contract extension next summer. That should have no effect whatsoever on the franchise’s desire to retain Giddey — Chicago needs to keep both him and White, no matter the cost.

Giddey is the immediate concern. The Bulls and their 22-year-old point guard are still haggling over a new deal, but things are expected to come to an amicable(ish) conclusion before the season starts. The amount, length and structure are to be determined, but Chicago should be locking up its franchise point guard in the next few months.

White’s status as an unrestricted free agent after 2025-26 has been tossed about in the NBA ether, but it hasn’t been a significant storyline. Until now.

Insider Jake Fischer mentioned on a Bleacher Report livestream how much the former North Carolina star expects to earn next summer; the cat’s been let out of the bag, so to speak.

Chicago Bulls guard Coby White is aiming for a massive payday

White and his camp envisage a contract that pays him more than $30 million annually, according to Fischer:

“There is already buzz of Coby White wanting even higher than that $30 million average annual figure we keep talking about, so that’s another piece of the puzzle Chicago is considering as well, being that they have a lot of money that they are going to have to be shelling out to another player in their backcourt very soon.”

NBA insider Jake Fischer

Giddey has also been hoping for an extension in that $30 million range, but as a restricted free agent, the Bulls would have the opportunity to match any offer he receives. Unfortunately for Giddey, the lack of cap space around the league has Chicago owning all the leverage in negotiations, and he’s unlikely to land that much cash.

White, meanwhile, shouldn’t have to deal with any of those issues next summer; more teams will have money available to spend (including the Bulls, who are projected to have the most cap space in The Association next offseason) and his status as an unrestricted free agent means he can take any offer he gets and bolt from the Windy City if he desires.

While Giddey is the driver of Donovan’s transition-heavy offense, White is its best scorer. When the Bulls picked up the pace after last year’s All-Star break — literally — the 25-year-old averaged 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists with shooting splits of 49/37/91. Despite a high usage rate of 26.6 over that stretch, White only committed 2.3 turnovers per game.

Simply put, he became one of the best offensive options in the league at the end of last season.

Bulls must keep both Josh Giddey and Coby White

The two guards aren’t necessarily interchangeable, but they have some overlapping skill sets. Giddey is the creative passer and table-setter, while White is the shot creator and scorer. The former shot 37.8 percent from three last season, however, and the latter was an efficient playmaker who posted a nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite having the highest-usage rate on the squad.

The Bulls finished last season sixth in points per game and second after the All-Star break when their backcourt cranked its game up a notch. Donovan wants to play even faster this year, which means the pair are even more vital.

There are legitimate concerns about a Giddey-White tandem defensively. Neither is great, or even a good, on-ball defender. The selection of French forward Noa Essengue with the No. 12 pick in the 2025 draft, however, points to the kind of team the organization is building: one that can wreak havoc defensively and dominate teams in transition.

Adding an athletic, defensive-minded wing in Isaac Okoro is more evidence of that strategy. Matas Buzelis, a rangy, explosive combo forward himself who led the Bulls in blocks last year, is another young player who fits the mold. Finding a rim-running, shot-blocking center is the logical next step, but there’s still plenty of runway left for Chicago to bulk up its roster.

There’s no denying how critical Giddey and White are to the Bulls’ current and future success. And it’s reasonable to expect both of them to take another leap this season.

Armed with a load of cap space and a need to keep moving forward with a recipe that led to winning in the closing months of last season, Chicago has every reason to continue building around its current starting guards.