Coby White walked into the locker room coughing, tired, and stumbling through the tail end of a cold — but a runny nose was the least of his concerns. The Chicago Bulls guard had far heavier problems on his mind: a six-game losing streak, a locker room edging dangerously close to fracture, nagging calf issues, his pending free agency, and the unsettling reality that his team keeps losing to bottom-tier opponents. The Bulls aren’t just slipping in the standings; they’re slipping in identity. And White knows it.
“There’s only one way out of this,” White said, voice steady but eyes exhausted. “We’ve got to do it together.”
It was the kind of message you only hear from someone who’s seen more than he’s willing to admit. White has lived through seven turbulent years in Chicago — the highs, the humiliations, the rebuilds, and the false dawns. So when he warns that finger-pointing can destroy a team faster than any opponent, it’s not empty talk. It’s experience speaking.
But right now, staying united may be the Bulls’ toughest battle.
Chicago confirmed over the weekend that rookie forward Noa Essengue will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery — the latest blow in a brutal stretch of injuries that has sidelined up to seven players in a single week. Six are still out, and the domino effect has been catastrophic: rotations shattered, defensive coverages exposed, and offensive possessions collapsing into isolation plays that the Bulls simply aren’t built to run. What started as a promising 6-1 season has unraveled into a startling 3-12 skid, punctuated by losses to the Pacers (twice), Hornets, Nets, and Pelicans — teams far below Chicago in preseason expectations.
“This season is going to test us,” White said. “But we can change the narrative. We can’t let go of the rope.”
There are glimmers of hope. Tre Jones (ankle) and Ayo Dosunmu (thumb) are expected back soon, and Zach Collins made his long-awaited debut on Friday, adding much-needed size to the lineup. But even that relief comes with a catch: forward Isaac Okoro, the team’s best defender, continues to battle a pinched nerve in his back. His return is uncertain — and the Bulls are 1-6 without him.
Even if Okoro returns tomorrow, White knows better than to pretend everything magically fixes itself.
“Nothing in this league is easily fixable,” he said bluntly. “You’re playing the best players in the world every night. If we want to get back on track, it’s going to take fight, grit, and a lot of honest conversations. But I believe we can.”
What he didn’t say — but everyone around the franchise understands — is what happens if they don’t.
Because looming over this crisis is a front office famous for its silence, patience, and reluctance to act… until it can’t. And this team is inching toward that breaking point. White is one of several Bulls heading toward free agency, alongside Dosunmu, Collins, Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, and Jevon Carter. Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry are nearing the ends of their rookie deals. If the Bulls don’t right the ship, the roster that fans see today could be completely unrecognizable within months.
For now, White is choosing belief.
“We’ve got a lot of season left,” he said.
Whether that’s hopeful — or ominous — depends entirely on what the Bulls do next.
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