Chicago Bulls guard Coby White had a smile on his face Wednesday morning after the team’s shootaround at the Advocate Center.
That’s not unusual for the 21-year-old White, but he had even more reason to be in a good mood knowing his return to the Bulls is getting close.
“It’s been a long road, been a long five, six months,” he said. “It’s a blessing to be back out there.”
White said he’s “fully back” from the torn labrum in his left shoulder that necessitated surgery in June. He participated in a simulated four-quarter game consisting of six-minute quarters to get his legs acclimated for the NBA grind. He’s not worried about contact and he said he’ll be able to get through screens and to drive without fretting about reinjury.
“I don’t really fear anything,” he said. “When I’m out there, I’m just playing, so it hasn’t been any issue for me.”
So when will White return to the Bulls rotation?
“Soon, real soon,” he said.
How about the West Coast trip that starts Friday in San Francisco and includes four more games in Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and Denver?
“Maybe,” he said. “It’s a possibility.”
The Bulls bench already was relatively thin before Javonte Green moved into the starting lineup after Patrick Williams suffered a season-ending wrist injury Oct. 28.
Coach Billy Donovan wouldn’t put a date on White’s return but said it possibly could happen during the trip. He called White’s 2020-21 season “up and down” but said White showed progress during the season.
Getting White into the rotation won’t be difficult, but getting him minutes will be a challenge with Ayo Dosunmu playing well. So the Bulls might ease White into things.
“One thing Coby can help us with is shooting and spreading the floor, which has been great,” Donovan said. “Ayo has done a great job, just with his motor and his intensity. We need to keep that.
“But it’s something we’re going to have to really look at, and my guess would be early you could see nine or 10 guys (in the rotation) until we can figure it out. … No question some of those guys coming off the bench, (their) minutes are going to be impacted.”
White, the No. 7 pick in the 2019 draft, averaged 15.1 points and 4.8 assists last season, starting 54 of his 69 games. His return likely would provide some instant offense with the second unit, on which Alex Caruso and Derrick Jones Jr. have done a good job so far, particularly on the defensive end.
White said he couldn’t recall missing any games in high school and only one at North Carolina. But he said his left shoulder was “already messed up” when he suffered the injury during an offseason workout.
“I’d kind of been walking around (with it),” he said. “I remember messing my shoulder up in high school, but I didn’t really pay any attention to it.
“So I got hit again, and this time it was kind of like the last straw. It popped out and I knew something was up. I’d felt the same pain before, but it usually goes away.”
White credited his faith and family for making his rehab “pretty easy” to deal with the last five months. He no longer will be a starter now that Lonzo Ball is on board, but he’s confident he’ll be able to provide scoring and energy with the second unit.
“They already play with a bunch of energy and they’re very good defensively,” he said. “So just me trying to fit in on both ends of the court.”
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