Chicago Bulls guard Coby White undergoes MRI to gain clarity on knee injury

The Bulls want to make sure everything checks out with Coby’s left knee.

Bulls' guard Coby White underwent an MRI on his left knee Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury he suffered in Tuesday night's preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans. The team is hopeful it's nothing serious as the third-year guard is slated to assume a significant role this season after Lonzo Ball's knee surgery.

Standard medical procedure

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan provided an update on White's status after practice on Wednesday as the team prepares for their next preseason match against the Denver Nuggets on Friday. Donovan asserted the team wanted to ensure everything was where it had to be concerning White's knee.

"They (referring to the Bulls' medical team) just told me that they wanted to take him, just to kind of standard procedure when a guy has something like that, to take him there and just make sure everything's okay," Donovan said.

White barely got a sweat in during their preseason match against New Orleans, as he was immediately subbed out after playing a little under three minutes and finishing with no points on two attempts. It didn't take long for the Bulls to shed light on the White's status.

Donovan added that the injury was probably not serious as he relayed that White was eager to make his way to the ballgame.

"He felt like he could have gone back and played last night," shared Donovan. "Coby wanted to go back in. With a preseason game, it didn't make any sense to even have him go back in there."

Still, with White slated to pick up some of the slack left by Ball's absence, the team felt it was best to err on the side of caution and give White's left knee a complete checkup.

"But they worry about those situations where muscles aren't firing correctly and plants the wrong way and something else happens. I think we just took him in there today just to check him out," Donovan added.

Off-the-bench punch

With Ayo Dosunmo getting the starting gig, replacing Ball, the Chicago Bulls need someone to come off the bench and provide a spark offensively. That's where White comes in, as he is coming off a solid season in which he averaged 12.7 points, shot nearly 39 percent from three-point range, and displayed uncanny maturity for a player of his tender age.

As such, it would benefit the Bulls to get White back on the court and ready for the regular season as soon as possible. But they are content to take a cautious approach with their prized guard and ensure he is 100 percent healthy before inserting him back into game action.