Despite a 40-point win over the Jazz on Friday, the Timberwolves are off to a middling 5-4 start. The point guard play from Minnesota has been seen as a weakness even before the season began.
Minnesota fans have begun to dream about adding Ja Morant via trade due to the issues he seemingly has with the Grizzlies. Bill Simmons instead suggests a deal where the Timberwolves acquire Coby White, who has yet to play for the Bulls this season.
Bill Simmons pitches Coby White as a trade candidate
On his podcast, Simmons spoke with Joe House and named five hypothetical NBA trade ideas. One of his deals involved the Timberwolves acquiring White from the Bulls.
"If you send him (Coby White) to Minnesota, a team that desperately needs a point guard, you take back (Donte) DiVincenzo and Rob Dillingham, Simmons suggested. I think I would do that if I was both teams."
The 25-year-old White has been out since the start of the season with a calf strain. A recent report, though, states that he is aiming to return during Chicago’s three-game Western Conference road trip that begins on November 16.
The seventh overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, White’s game has taken off over the last two years. In 2024-25, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged a career-best 20.4 points while making nearly three 3-pointers per contest.
He’s never put up huge assist numbers, but he’s also shared backcourts in his career with lead guards that often have the ball such as Lonzo Ball, and now Josh Giddey.
White hasn't been rumored as a trade candidate yet
Now, there hasn’t been any type of reports that the Bulls are shopping White. Simmons probably speculates it could happen though due to Chicago’s excellent start without him.
While they lost on Friday to the Bucks, their 6-2 mark is the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, only behind the 7-2 Pistons. While Tre Jones doesn’t have the offensive chops of White, he’s done a superb job filling his role in the starting lineup.
Simmons believes both teams would be apt to accept a White for DiVincenzo and Dillingham deal. Things could change, but I’d guess that the Bulls would be more likely to say no.
The Timberwolves may also be skeptical as to whether this is a deal they should take because White is a free agent after the season. As a team very close to the second apron, it would make it difficult to re-sign him in the offseason to a market value deal.
Expect Minnesota to pop up in point guard trade rumors throughout the season though, especially if the Timberwolves continue their trend of struggling against good teams while racking up wins against the lower-echelon squads.