Coby White is set to make his Hornets debut against his former Bulls team

Coby White is set to make his Charlotte Hornets debut on Tuesday night against his former Bulls team.

The Hornets announced that White, who was acquired in a trade with Chicago on Feb. 4, has been upgraded to available and will play against the Bulls at the United Center. White was sidelined since the trade while recovering from a left calf strain.

Charlotte also got a boost from the returns of Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate after serving four games suspensions for their roles in a fight against Detroit on Feb. 9. Charlotte entered in 10th place in the Eastern Conference at 27-31 and has climbed into position for at least a play-in spot after starting the season at 4-14.

The 26-year-old White has been hampered by nagging calf strains in both legs this season and missed 22 games on and off with the Bulls before the trade. In his 29 games with Chicago, White averaged 18.6 points and 29.1 minutes.

White last played in an NBA game on Feb. 3 with the Bulls. Now the North Carolina native is cautiously optimistic he’s got the condition under control.

“I hope don’t have to deal with it no more,” White said. “But you just never know, though because at the beginning whenever I got past it, I thought I was done with it too. So God willing, it’s pretty much cleared up.”

It’s expected that White will come off the bench and serve as Charlotte’s backup point guard behind LaMelo Ball, who is coming off a 37-point game in a win over the Washington Wizards on Monday night in which he made a career-high 10 3-pointers.

Coach Charles Lee said he didn’t have specific restrictions for White.

“We’re just trying to be mindful when we’re bringing guys back from injures, of not trying to play in too long of stretches and watching their total minutes,” Lee said.

“I’m excited to have him joining the group and he’s just got to be Coby White,” Lee added. “Don’t try to do to much, don’t need to be extraordinary. That’s why we went and traded for him.”

White, who spent 6 1/2 seasons with the Bulls, was Chicago’s first round pick, seventh overall, in 2019 and jumped into NBA play in 2019-20, finishing fifth in rookie of the year balloting.

White played one collegiate season with the North Carolina Tar Heels and seemed grateful for the homecoming after the Bulls shipped him to Charlotte with Mike Conley for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and 2031 draft picks.

“I feel like I’m in a great situation, blessed to be part of the Hornets organization,” White said.

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