3 Coby White trades the Chicago Bulls should make
By Joe Mullinax
3. The Memphis Grizzlies could reset their backcourt depth
Chicago Bulls receive – De’Anthony Melton, No. 22 and No. 47 overall picks in 2022 NBA Draft
Memphis Grizzlies receive – Coby White, No.18 overall pick in 2022 NBA Draft
De’Anthony Melton of the Memphis Grizzlies is a winning basketball player in the regular season. The numbers back up the eye test — when Melton is on the floor, a team’s defense is much more aggressive in creating “stocks”, or steals/blocks (97th and 96th percentile in the NBA in steal and block percentage among combo guards) and he also helps tremendously with team rebounding (a staggering 15.1 percent defensive rebound mark, 100th percentile per Cleaning the Glass).
He also struggles mightily offensively (37th percentile in points per shot attempt) and despite his 6-foot-8.5 wingspan, his 6-foot-2 frame can create issues in terms of his combo guard positioning when the playoffs arrive.
Meanwhile, White is a better offensive weapon in almost every way, even from beyond the arc this past season after a career-best campaign for both players. Coby is not the defensive dynamo that De’Anthony is, however — he has a shorter wingspan than the shorter in terms of height Melton, and his “stocks” percentages are in the bottom third of the league.
It’s a true tradeoff of offense for defense, with a special kicker for both squads involving picks. Chicago is going to be cash-strapped in terms of the salary cap soon, and they acquire two later firsts that are four-year rookie deals in addition to Melton’s very team-friendly two-year descending value contract that has roughly $16 million remaining.
Memphis, on the other side, adds a player in White that theoretically could replace both De’Anthony and Tyus Jones, who may depart in free agency. White played almost every minute as the backup point guard in Chicago this past season according to Basketball-Reference.com and is more than capable of doing that for the Grizzlies. But White also has experience as a two-guard, and alongside Ja Morant could provide valuable secondary facilitation and shooting ability against reserve units where his defensive issues will not be as impactful.
Combine that with a move up the draft board to No. 18 to perhaps take a Kyle Anderson (another Memphis free agent) replacement like Tari Eason or Patrick Baldwin Jr., or another “older” player that is ready to contribute like Ochai Agbaji or E.J. Liddell, and the Grizzlies would feel better about their roster’s age/financial situation as Ja Morant’s own max deal kicks in next summer. A Coby White extension likely looks similar to what De’Anthony Melton’s contract did for Memphis.
And Chicago didn’t select him No. 7 overall to pay him roughly $9 million a season as a reserve contributor. His ability to space the floor for the second unit and play both on and off the ball matters most. For Chicago, they get another pick in this draft while adding a guard that will strengthen their defense alongside star offensive weapons. Win-win.