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  "path": "/bulls/2026/02/24/bulls-welcome-back-coby-white-watch-new-team-throttle-them",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-25T04:12:45.496Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>Coby White said his agents were in talks with the Bulls’ front office since last summer about a contract extension for the free agent- to-be, whom they traded to the Hornets just before the Feb. 5 deadline.</p><p>“But you know things change,” White said Tuesday as he made his first return to the United Center.</p><p>Oh, things have changed.</p><p>The Hornets (28-31) are fighting for a playoff spot as one of the hotter teams in the Eastern Conference, as evidenced by their 131-99 dismantling of the Bulls. Meanwhile, White’s former team (24-35) has lost 10 straight.</p><p>“The way the season was going, we really weren’t stacking enough wins consistently, so like I always said from the jump, I support whatever they think is best for the team,” White said of the Bulls’ decision to move him. “This organization believed in me. They gave me a chance and an opportunity to live out my dreams. So I just want to see the organization succeed.”</p><p>That might not be for a while.</p><p>Playing in his first game since the trade, White was recovered enough from a strained calf to get 16 minutes off the bench, scoring 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Not that the Hornets needed much from him. They outscored the Bulls 42-16 in the third quarter, including getting 17 points off 10 Bulls turnovers. They also had 14 fast break points in the quarter and 12 assists to the Bulls’ two.</p><p>“The turnovers are a problem — they are a major problem, and we have to continue to get that resolved,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “When there are mistakes that are made and they are constantly compounded, I think it takes away the fuel and the gas from our team, and we’ve got to be tougher than that.</p><p>“We’ve also got to be more responsible than that. All of us, coaches and players, have to do a much better job in terms of trying to help one another. I sensed the frustration [in the third quarter] and being deflated.”</p><p>If there was one positive, it was a career-high 32 points for forward Matas Buzelis. But that’s where it ended for the Bulls.</p><p>As for White, his hope is to stay healthy, get his hometown team to the postseason and worry about his contract and future in July.</p><p>“[The Hornets’ front office] did some podcasts saying they want me to be a Hornet for a long time,” he said. “I don’t think they would have said it if they didn’t mean it. Obviously, I want to be a Hornet for a long time.</p><p>“Obviously, I’m in a very great situation with a really good team that has talent, really good players, good coaches, and they’re building something special here. Like I always say, I just want to be a small part of it and try and help any way I can.”</p><p>Regarding his old team, he doesn’t look back negatively at all.</p><p>“The basketball was always basketball,” White said. “That’s what I did, but I think the people here that I met [and] built relationships with was the thing that was the hardest for me [to leave]. You get used to seeing these people every day, but now you don’t.”<br></p>",
  "title": "Bulls welcome back Coby White and then watch his new team throttle them",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-25T05:09:00.970Z"
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