I almost fell off my stool at the coffee shop this morning when I saw an article suggesting that the Boston Celtics would benefit from trading Derrick White.
We’ve reached an era where it’s not uncommon to see articles like this. Fake trades drive pageviews and that’s just part of the game at this point, unfortunately.
It’s always pretty funny when you see pieces like this involving a team like the Celtics though. Outside of an NBA 2K MyLeague save, there’s no shot that Boston would have an interest in flipping White in any sort of deal.
They’re simply too good and he’s just too valuable.
The All-Defensive guard has proven time and time again that he is an essential cog in Joe Mazzulla’s basketball machine. Since trading for White in February of 2022 (yes, Mazzulla hadn’t become head coach yet), the Celtics have a record of 160-54 (.748 winning percentage). They’ve reached the Eastern Conference Finals in every season since, appeared in two NBA Finals, and won last season’s NBA championship.
That’s quite the resume of team success, wouldn’t you say?
Not to mention that the guy almost never misses a game. When he does, it’s clear that the Cs are missing his presence. In the ten outings that they’ve had to play without The Buffalo, Boston has a record of just 6-4 (.600). That might be a decent clip for most teams, but not the Celtics.
As an individual, White has been tremendous for Boston.
In each of his first two full seasons in green, the Colorado native has been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team. He’s quite literally been one of the best shot-blocking guards that the league has ever seen. White’s 87 blocks last season ranked 12th all-time amongst guards in NBA history.
He’s been pretty great on the offensive side of the ball, too. Most times, White typically serves as a second or third scoring option for Boston, but he’s comfortable with whatever the team needs of him, big or small.
En route to Boston’s 18th NBA title last spring, White had multiple scoring outbursts, including a playoff-career-high 38 points against the Miami Heat. He was incredible throughout, averaging 16.4 points per game on 45/40 shooting splits.
He’s picked up right where he left off this season. White is scoring a career-high 17.4 points per game on efficient 45/39 splits.
If you factor all of the above along with the fact that White just signed a four-year/$118 million contract extension in July, a trade involving him would be ridiculous. He literally cannot be traded until January 6, 2025, because of his new deal.
That contract is either the second or third most valuable of Boston’s starting unit, depending on how you feel about Jaylen Brown’s supermax (I personally think he’s worth it). The task of finding someone to fit into the team better than DWhite would be impossible. Even if they were to land a superstar in that cap slot, whether or not they’re willing to sacrifice individual success to gel with Boston’s core would be a massive question.
To be completely frank, I’m not sure that the Celtics have any reason to swing a trade before this season’s deadline at all. Maybe if they’re dead set on moving Jaden Springer in exchange for picks or an extra roster spot, but even then it feels like a force. Draft picks would certainly be helpful for Brad Stevens as he continues to combat the new CBA and build a sustainable roster in Boston.
The Celtics have so much money tied up in their (many) star players’ contracts that the draft is really the only way for them to add new talent for a cheap price. Hitting on draft picks or undrafted signees is going to be essential to continue to put a strong roster around White, Brown, and Jayson Tatum. Even if Boston were to move off of one of their stars, they’d likely turn to Kristaps Porzingis or Jrue Holiday first, but even that seems far-fetched.
At this point in time, there’s no real motivation for Stevens to shake up his core of players. Despite missing Porzingis for a good chunk of their games so far, they’re off to the same start as last season through 24 games, 19-5. There’s still plenty of games left, but it doesn’t seem like the Celtics are falling off anytime soon.
