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Coby White lauds Chris Paul for being a mentor on and off the floor
Chris Paul may get a bad rep for being a bit of a hothead and complainer on the court, but his mentorship has been invaluable for young players like Coby White. The fourth-year guard recently took to Twitter to express his appreciation for the "Point God's" leadership on and off the floor.
Close bond
White, who's currently on the mend due to a bruised thigh, touched on his relationship with Paul and his family in a tweet that read:
The ties between the cagey veteran and the promising guard run deep. In 2020, White spoke about their relationship, which began in high school when he played for Paul's AAU squad. It became deeper when Paul offered White and his family support when the latter's father, Donald, passed away after a bout with liver cancer.
"He's meant a lot to me," Coby said of Paul. "When I started playing for CP3 when I was 16, he came to a game, and he pulled me aside, and we started talking. He knew about my life, who I was, and how I played. He said I played with a chip on my shoulder, and I had something to prove every time I played."
"So after that, he gave me his number, his contact and it just went from there. It's little things like that. It's Chris Paul. He doesn't have to take the time out to text me from time to time or call me and ask me how I'm doing. And I'm still in high school, I'm a high school kid, so that's a big part. And he played a big part whenever my father died."
Uncertain future
Although White is getting close to a return, his future with the Chicago Bulls remains uncertain. The North Carolina product failed to negotiate a contract extension before the deadline, meaning he'll become a restricted free agent this offseason.
There's been a lot of chatter about a trade involving White, but it's unclear whether the Bulls will pull the trigger. In the meantime, White will continue rehab and hope to get back on the floor to help the Bulls, who need scoring beyond their top guns.
