Timberwolves Keep Coming Up for Coby White, But Will the Bulls Run Into Trouble?

The Minnesota Timberwolves were mentioned again as a trade suitor for Coby White. The fit makes a lot of sense, but will the Bulls like the offer?

Dec 5, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls Coby White enters the United Center before the game against the Indiana Pacers. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Coby White trade buzz continues to grow louder.

Many have considered the 25-year-old as one of the Chicago Bulls' top trade candidates since well before the season started. Entering the year in the final year of his contract and making a shockingly cheap $12.9 million, the Bulls were never expected to reach a new deal with White over the summer. The NBA only permits a team to start an extension at 140 percent of a player's salary in the final year of his existing contract. White can demand far more than that as an unrestricted free agent.

With that being the case, the Bulls have been left in a complicated position. Do they risk allowing White to hit the open market and attempt to meet his potentially lofty contract demands? If not, the only option that makes sense is to find a trade partner ahead of the February deadline.

And one team continues to come up in conversations.

Timberwolves Named Again as Coby White Suitor

Oct 19, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) goes to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

A couple of weeks after Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported the Minnesota Timberwolves' interest in Coby White, a national insider has followed suit.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line shared on Substack that he has received word that Minnesota checked in on White's availability. More specifically, he reiterated that the Bulls appear more willing than ever before to find a trade partner for White.

While we still have a long way to go before the February deadline, we can all agree that the more a team comes up, the more they feel like a serious suitor. Yes, Minnesota does seem like an obvious landing spot for White, considering their obvious hole at the point guard position. But fit isn't a reason enough to believe a trade could happen. We need direct reports that connect the two parties, and we have now received that from both a local and national source.

As we've discussed in the past, Minnesota certainly has the trade chips to make a deal work. Combining Donte DiVincenzo with either Rob Dillingham or Terrence Shannon Jr. feels like a package that could entice the Bulls. This front office has shown a clear interest recently in adding young, high-upside talent to the roster as opposed to future draft capital.

Minnesota also has Joan Beringer, whom they selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. The Bulls were connected to the Frenchman plenty in the lead-up to draft night, and there is no question they could use someone with his shot-blocking potential. Whether or not the Timberwolves would be willing to part ways with him, however, remains a fair question.

Perhaps if White had a couple more years on his current deal, the Timberwolves wouldn't hesitate to throw the seven-footer into a deal. However, the fact that White is playing on an expiring contract is undoubtedly going to have an impact on his market. Fischer noted exactly that in his recent write-up, stressing that White's looming payday is bound to bring down his "attractiveness" in the trade market.

Does that mean the Bulls shouldn't have a list of suitors clogging up the phone line? Not necessarily. But it does mean those conversations may not go exactly in the direction the Bulls originally hoped. To be sure, the potential for a handful of teams getting involved is at least one way to hopefully raise the price tag. A bidding war never hurts! Still, fans may have to prepare themselves for a world where a White trade does not feature a truly irresistible trade piece.

To be honest, this is why no one should be shocked if the narrative begins to turn in the coming weeks. While the Bulls currently appear more open than ever to talking trades, they have a tendency to hold their players to a higher value than most. If the right offers aren't coming across their desk, White could very quickly become their free agency priority. After all, this is a franchise with plenty of money to spend.