The Boston Celtics’ Derrick White during the NBA Finals. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty … [+]
When his name came up in a potential trade for Kevin Durant, Jaylen Brown’s relationship with the Boston Celtics suddenly became a topic of conversation in the NBA. It was notable that similar attention was not given to the other player in the reported deal, the one the Brooklyn Nets apparently didn’t want: Derrick White.
If you recall, the Celtics offered Brown, White and a first-round draft pick in a colorful package to the Nets, who (probably because they had no intention of actually parting with their best player) demanded either Marcus Smart or Robert Williams in lieu of White. This, obviously, was never going to happen.
While Brown has been dealing with trade rumors since Boston drafted him, White was the player mentioned who had actually gone through the process of being traded by his hometown team. The Celtics sent the San Antonio Spurs a first-round draft pick, Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford for his services right at the deadline.
Despite playing a key role for a team that made last season’s NBA Finals, White has flown under the radar this summer. Perhaps that’s for the best. Because the Celtics rarely made trade deadline deals in the past, and had given up a reasonable haul for White, the guard’s half-season in Boston took place under a microscope and his production was often found wanting.
While his numbers were often unimpressive, there’s no denying the fact that White’s arrival coincided with the Celtics’ transformation from consistently disappointing underachievers to the best team in the Eastern Conference. He’s a valuable two-way player who clearly stabilized a team that desperately needed consistency. That neither the Celtics or the Nets valued White in the same way they valued Smart, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, or Williams, the 24-year-old center who is one healthy regular season away from vying for that honor, should not be considered a knock on White.
When the 2022-23 NBA season begins, all eyes will be on Brown, who now will be playing in Durant’s shadow. White, however, will be entering his first full year in Boston with considerably lowered expectations. He is no longer the Designated New Guy and he will get the opportunity to play an entire season within head coach Ime Udoka’s system.
If there was one criticism of the Spurs trade, it was that the Celtics were bringing in a player in the first year of a four-year, $70 million contract even though he wouldn’t be a starter if the team were healthy. In an ideal situation, Boston’s starting five are Jayson Tatum, Brown, Smart, Williams and Al Horford. Given Horford’s age and Williams’s injury history, there would likely be more stating scenarios for a big man (get healthy soon Danilo Gallinari) than either White or new teammate Malcolm Brogdon.
On the other hand, maybe the Celtics shouldn’t rely on ideal scenarios. Last season, the Celtics had to lean heavily on their core throughout the entire year and particularly hard during the postseason. Eventually, the Golden State Warriors took advantage of the thinness of their bench.
White’s value could precisely be wrapped up in the fact that he’s a starter who can come off the bench rather than a role player who can be pressed into starting service. Now that he no longer has to justify the Celtics’ trade for him, White doesn’t have to become a “borderline all-star” to become the team’s secret weapon. He might simply just have to continue being himself.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hunterfelt/2022/08/31/why-derrick-white-could-be-the-boston-celtics-secret-weapon-next-season/