Annual salary of 30 million! 25-year-old Kobe White, is it worth it?

Kobe White knows it? His contract renewal was also in trouble.

Recently, famous reporter Jake Fischer reported this on the show. He said: "The source revealed that Kobe White is seeking a contract renewal with an average salary of more than 30 million yuan. The Bulls may reconsider the possibility of a transaction."

First look at Kobe White's current contract situation. In 2023, he signed a three-year, 36 million yuan renewal with the Bulls, which will enter the last year next season.

According to regulations, Kobe White is eligible for early renewal this summer, but due to the labor-management agreement (the starting salary for early renewal can only be 140% of the last year of the previous contract), the maximum early renewal he can sign can only be 89 million in four years. If he wants to pursue an annual salary of 30 million, he must enter the free market next summer to achieve it.

So the question is, Kobe White's annual salary is 30 million, is it worth it?

Take last season for example, Kobe White played 74 games for the Bulls, including 73 starts, averaging 33.1 minutes per game, scoring 20.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 0.9 steals, with the highest scoring career and ranking 31st in the league. In terms of efficiency, last season, Kobe White's three shooting percentages were 45.3%/37.0%/90.2%, and his real shooting percentage was 60.1%, which was also the highest in his career.

It should be noted that like Josh Gidedy, the Bulls, who is facing a contract renewal, Kobe White's performance has also become better and better as the season goes deeper, and the All-Stars are completely different:

- Before the All-Stars, 48 games, averaged 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists per game, and 57.9% of the All-Stars - After the All-Stars, 26 games, averaged 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists per game, and 63.4% of the real shooting percentage, including 63.4% of the real shooting percentage, in March, Kobe White's performance reached its peak. He played a total of 15 games, averaged 27.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, with a real shooting percentage of 63.2%, and led the Bulls to 9 wins and 6 losses.

Due to his outstanding performance in both data and record, Kobe White was also elected as the Player of the Month in March - don't underestimate this award. Many players who have been selected for the All-Star and Best Team may not have had the Best of the Month in their careers.

Judging from the performance after the All-Stars, Kobe White's performance is completely All-Star. His offensive level is extremely high, especially outside the three-point line, and he averages 3.1 three-pointers per game with a shooting rate of nearly 38%.

However, there are also problems, and there are many:

1, limited defensive talent, Kobe White is 1.96 meters tall (maybe counted as hair), his wingspan is 1.96 meters, and his weight is 88 meters. Although he has good athletic ability, his figure is thin in point guards, so it is difficult to become a good defender. In terms of data, his DBPM last season was -1.4, which is not very good

2. He can play double-season guards, but his control ability of point guards is weaker. Last season, he made 4.5 assists and 2.4 mistakes, and the assist-and-turnover ratio was only 1.86

3. The sample is relatively limited. After all, there are less than 30 games after the All-Stars, even if it is There are only 15 games in March 2022. Here, let’s take a look at White’s performance in the previous two years:

——2022-23 season, Kobe White’s rookie contract last year, his performance was very bad, he couldn’t even play in the starting lineup, averaged only 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, with the lowest score career. Therefore, he signed a three-year, 36 million contract

——20 In the 23-24 season, in the first year of the current contract, White ushered in a big explosion, averaging 19.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game, nearly double the score compared to the previous season. However, his efficiency is not high, and his real shooting percentage is only 57.0%

The slump in the 22-23 season is to be honest, and the Bulls' price reduction is affected, but looking at White's career, except for last season, he is indeed not an efficient scorer.

A shooting guard like him who has offense but no defense, to be honest, the market has been bad in recent years. As for this summer, Cameron Thomas, who is more explosive than White's score, has not negotiated a contract yet. Interestingly, Thomas' asking price is also 30 million.

Another comparison is Reeves, who rejected the Lakers' four-year, 89.2 million contract renewal this summer. There is subsequent news that the Lakers may reach an average salary of 30 million with him next summer.

Pure personal point of view, Kobe White's ability is higher than Cameron Thomas. Judging from his performance last season, he may be better than Reeves, and he is younger than Reeves.

If we can maintain the level of last season next year, especially the All-Star level, then an annual salary of 30 million or even 35 million is not an exaggeration - it seems a lot, but in the era of maximum salary of 60 million to 80 million, it is actually not that exaggerated.

The problem is that from the past, Kobe White's outbreak last season was more like a coincidence? So if he wants to get a big contract, he must prove his stability. I hope he can continue to amazed next season. This Kobe is really not easy to get crazy.