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The Boston Celtics‘ fortunes changed when they acquired Derrick White at the trade deadline. They were 31-25 before White was acquired, then finished the season at 51-31, meaning they went 20-6 the rest of the way. Then, of course, they made it all the way to the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, where they were two wins away from their first championship since 2008.
Despite White’s obvious impact on the Celtics upon joining them, an Eastern Conference coach told Heavy’s Sean Deveney that he believes that White was not happy with how things went down last season.
“Derrick would be the first one to tell you he is not all that satisfied with the way last year went,” the coach told Deveney. “He played really good defense, but he was never comfortable offensively. I think Ime and the coaches are going to sit him down and say, ‘Look, get into the paint. We need you in the paint.'”
In the 26 games he played for the Celtics during the regular season, White averaged 11 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds a game while shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from three.
In the 23 playoff games he played for the Celtics, White averaged 8.5 points, 2.7 assists, and three rebounds a game while shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three. Now that White won’t have to learn schemes on the fly like he did when was acquired mid-season, the Celtics could very well see a more offensively efficient version of him.
White Called ‘Most Overvalued Celtic’
On “The Celtics Collective” podcast, Deveney said that White was the most overvalued Celtic because his shortcomings on the offensive end reared its ugly head in the playoffs.
“He came in for 26 games and shot 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-point line,” Deveney said. “He had some pretty good moments in the playoffs, for sure, but still 36 percent from the field, 31 percent from the three-point line. This is common in his career. It’s been. The knock on him is that he’s not a consistent shooter, and that’s gonna hold him back.”
While White’s offensive efficiency, or lack thereof, showed itself in the playoffs, he certainly had his moments during the 2022 playoffs, like Game 6 against the Miami Heat, which would be more fondly remembered if the Celtics had won that game to clinch the series.
White also played a role in the Celtics drawing first blood in the NBA Finals when they beat the Warriors in Golden State in Game 1.
Celtics Make Final Decision on Derrick White Trade
After the Celtics acquired Malcolm Brogdon during the offseason, many speculated that Brogdon’s acquisition could make White expendable. However, a source told Deveney that the Celtics are not actively looking to trade White.
“If something came their way where they needed a salary to match, that would be a case where you can imagine them looking to maybe move White, but they’re not out there shopping him for sure,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney.
Unless the right trade comes along, it appears White is staying put. With him, Brogdon, Marcus Smart, and Payton Pritchard all in the same backcourt, the Celtics have some solid guard depth for the 2022-23 season.
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