Among the many suboptimal aspects of the Josh Giddey acquisition—he’s extension-eligible, doesn’t defend and would better serve the Chicago Bulls if he were a future first-round pick—is its potentially damaging effect on 2023-24 breakout star Coby White.

White grew on all fronts last season, but his development as an off-the-dribble shooter was particularly intriguing. In 2022-23, 9.8 percent of White’s field-goal attempts were pull-up threes, and he hit just 27.6 percent of them. Last year, those same shots accounted for 12.3 percent of White’s field goals, and he drilled them at a 40.4 percent clip.

Because Giddey doesn’t scare defenses as a shooter, he needs to be on the ball. That could diminish White’s chances to keep building on his progress from last year.

Still, if we assume Zach LaVine will either miss too much time to qualify or, more likely, wind up playing for another team by season’s end, this feels like White’s scoring race to lose. And who knows, maybe Giddey will thrive as a primary creator and help White add a couple of easy extra buckets per game. Say what you want about the Aussie guard’s defense and shooting, but nobody’s ever questioned his unselfishness or passing acumen.