CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For a few seconds Friday, Bulls guard Coby White didn’t sound like a 25-year-old NBA player.
He sounded more like an old soldier going out on one last mission or a gladiator leaving the arena of battle one final time. Either way, it was definitely a line right out of a Hollywood script.
‘‘I’ve seen some things,’’ White said before pausing. ‘‘I’ve been around for a bit.’’
Then he started to laugh, almost catching himself and realizing how he sounded.
These are strange days for White and the Bulls, however, so maybe he has a right to feel that way. He just had helped his team end a seven-game losing streak with a victory against the Hornets and had spent the previous 24 hours in the midst of trade rumors again.
The Sun-Times reported Thursday that White was receiving interest from the Timberwolves, who have been exploring the trade market for weeks in an effort to improve their backcourt with a primary ballhandler. It wasn’t the first rumor White had been mentioned in this season and certainly won’t be the last.
White knew that when he turned down an extension offer from the Bulls last season, opting to bet on himself and test unrestricted free agency after this season.
‘‘I’ve been a trade rumor since my rookie year,’’ White said. ‘‘After my rookie year, going into my second year, that’s when the trade rumors started for me. At the time, I didn’t understand it because I had just had a great rookie year. Then it was like, ‘Ah, he’s got to be moved while the value is high,’ so I’m used to it.’’
He also is used to answering questions about his future. If it’s up to White, he would stay with the Bulls. That never has wavered.
‘‘Like I’ve always said, I love being on this team,’’ he said. ‘‘I can’t control that. Going into unrestricted free agency, it’s a business . . . and the organization has to do what they have to do.
‘‘I probably could have seen this coming just because of the year I’m in, the situation I’m in, and the Bulls have one of the biggest media outlets, followings, whatever. But I’ve been in the league a little time now, so I’m pretty much used to it. Unless I hear from my agent or I hear it from the front office, it’s all fluff for me.’’
What isn’t fluff, however, is how the story of the 2025-26 Bulls ends. White is one of six players on the team who will be eligible for free agency after the season, joining centers Nikola Vucevic and Zach Collins and guards Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter and Jevon Carter. Plus, the Bulls have to make decisions about swingman Dalen Terry and forward Julian Phillips, who are in the final season of their rookie deals.
‘‘There are a lot of us going into free agency, and I want everybody to be taken care of,’’ White said. ‘‘In order to do that, we’ve got to take care of each other; we’ve got to be there for each other. I know I don’t ever want to see any of these guys go. But like I said, it’s a business. I want everyone to be taken care of and everyone [to be] taken care of here. So for us to make that easier, we’ve got to start winning games.’’
It’s that simple: The more the Bulls win, the more the front office might want to keep the core intact.
White gets it, which isn’t surprising. After all, he has ‘‘seen some things.’’