Getty Derrick White
The Boston Celtics have a pivotal decision to make for Derrick White. He has another year on his contract, but they can extend him ahead of time. After the extensions they’ve agreed to and will agree to in the future, White’s future might be a little murky.
Celtics champion Brian Scalabrine revealed what the Celtics are waiting for before they extend White.
Brian Scalabrine says the Celtics are waiting for their new T.V. deal to kick in before extending Derrick White!
“They’re clearly going to wait until after the new TV deal,” Scalabrine said on the April 11 episode of WEEI’s Jones & Mego with Arcand. “Those new teams with this new fat TV deal could be worth… six to 12 billion? Six, 12 billion gets divvied up in between 30 teams. That’s a big check you’re going to make. Maybe more than even the Celtics were purchased for a while back.”
Scalabrine added how this new television deal could benefit the Celtics.
“You can take some of that money, and it relieves your tax bill pretty nicely… With Adam Silver talking one time (Las) Vegas and Seattle, and there have been no talk about that, I think people are a little bit ignoring that the Celtics… is going to get a giant fat check when these expansion teams come in. I think that would solve a lot of the issues of where the money’s going to come from.”
White is in the third year of a four-year, $70 million contract with the Celtics. He originally agreed to the contract with the San Antonio Spurs.
Jrue Holiday’s Extension May Affect Derrick White
The Celtics agreed to a four-year, $135 million extension with Holiday on April 10. Though they have Holiday locked up for the foreseeable future, The Athletic’s Jared Weiss revealed what Holiday’s extension could mean for White.
“With this extension set, the attention turns to Derrick White. Holiday’s backcourt partner did not agree to an extension before this season and has had a major breakout year. White enters the final year of his deal next season, making just $18.8 million, so he is due a substantial raise when he can hit the market in 2025 at 30 years old.
“With Tatum likely to agree to a supermax extension this offseason and Brown’s supermax kicking in, finding room to pay White will become difficult due to the punitive salary cap second apron,” Weiss wrote in an April 10 story.
With Holiday’s extension, the Celtics have shown that they are willing to pay top dollar for their current core. They will probably do the same with White, but it will depend on price.
Derrick White Won Player of the Week in March
The NBA announced on March 25 that White had won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
White winning the honor makes him the fourth Celtic to win the award. The others who have won it during the 2023-24 season include Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis was the last Celtic to win the award, as the NBA announced his victory on April 8. The Celtics have extended or will extend all of those players for the long-term future. White’s play this season would indicate that they may do the same with him.