Coby White Clears the Air on How the Calf Injury Popped Up After Trade From Bulls

When the Charlotte Hornets struck a deal with the Chicago Bulls on the eve of the trade deadline to land veteran point guard Coby White, they initially sent Collin Sexton and three second-round picks to the Windy City.

After being evaluated by the Hornets' medical staff, they diagnosed White with a calf strain, ultimately allowing the Hornets to amend the trade post-deadline, so that they only had to send two future second-round picks out the door along with Sexton.

So, what happened? During morning shoot-around ahead of the Hornets' matchup with the Bulls on Tuesday, White caught up with local media and was asked about the situation.

“I’ve been dealing with calf stuff all year, and sometimes it would just get tight. That’s all it was. Everybody can have their opinions, but I feel like the medical staff always had my best interest here (in Chicago). If I would’ve never got traded, I probably would’ve never said anything about it, just because I thought it was just tightness. I didn’t know, they (the Bulls) didn’t know, that it was a calf strain. That’s just kind of how it played out. It was nobody’s fault. It was never hindering me from playing. I was still playing a lot of minutes. I felt it a little bit, but it never hindered me from playing. Not like I felt it in my right one, my right one, I knew I strained it. The medical staff has always done right by me since I was here (in Chicago).”

Coby White on his year-long calf issues and playing 30 mins in his last Bulls game before MRI with Hornets revealed a strain

“Everybody can have their opinions, but I feel like the medical staff always had my best interest (in Chicago). If I would’ve never got traded, I… pic.twitter.com/BUkoA8fuSH
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) February 24, 2026

Both fan bases were curious as to how this happened, with Chicago's fans slightly upset that they didn't get the entire package that the two sides originally agreed to. Then again, it's not really a needle-mover for them, considering it's just a second rounder. But for Charlotte, fans were growing impatient and somewhat irritated that the front office traded for a player who couldn't help them immediately.

White missed his first six games with the Hornets, but was finally cleared to play last night, in Chicago, against his old team. In his Charlotte debut, White notched 10 points, four assists, three rebounds, and a steal in the 131-99 blowout victory.

Last night also marked the return of Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabaté, who completed their four-game suspension for their involvement in the brawl with the Detroit Pistons. This is the healthiest and arguably the deepest the Hornets have been in years.