Hornets, Coby White Agree on Three-Year, $74 Million Contract
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The Charlotte Hornets have reached a deal to keep guard Coby White, with the 26-year-old set to sign a three-year, $74 million contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The agreement comes only hours after Charlotte finalized a trade sending LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Without Ball, White is expected to assume a larger role in what will be his first full season with the Hornets.
President of basketball operations Jeff Peterson had labeled retaining White a top offseason objective after acquiring him from the Chicago Bulls at February’s trade deadline. The urgency grew following the Ball deal.
Selected seventh overall in the 2019 draft, White spent six and a half seasons in Chicago, emerging as a reliable scorer, perimeter shooter and secondary playmaker. In the 2024-25 campaign, he averaged 20.4 points and 4.5 assists while shooting .453 from the field, .370 from three-point range and .902 at the free-throw line.
Chicago was unable to extend White before free agency due to salary-cap restrictions tied to his $12.9 million salary in 2025-26; the largest possible extension would have been four years and $87 million. White signaled last year he would test unrestricted free agency instead, a decision that led to a higher annual value—approximately $25 million per season—in Charlotte.
After the mid-season trade, White appeared in 21 games off the Hornets bench, posting 15.6 points and 3.0 assists on .461/.391/.839 shooting. His stint included a memorable fadeaway three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining that pushed Charlotte past Miami in the play-in round.
The Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets also monitored White’s free-agent status, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. Despite the new contract, cap analyst Yossi Gozlan projects Charlotte will retain roughly $50 million in flexibility beneath the luxury-tax threshold thanks to savings generated by the Ball trade.
Source: HoopsRumors
