Why Derrick White is a great long-term add for the Boston Celtics

Given we are Boston Celtics fans and not San Antonio Spurs fans, it is safe to say that not many non-hardcore basketball followers have seen Derrick White play other than against the C’s.

Many casual fans probably haven’t even heard his name before.

However, other than the fact that he’s now on the team, here’s why all faithful followers of Boston’s franchise should know who Derrick White is.

White is currently 27-years-old and will be 30 by the time his four-year, $70 million contract is set to expire. He was drafted 29th overall in the 2017 draft by the Spurs, and exclusively played for San Antonio before being acquired by the Celtics at this year’s deadline.

In terms of skillset, White brings playmaking, defense, and scoring.

He is 6-4, can defend multiple positions, and can play both guard positions on offense.

Essentially, he can do whatever Ime Udoka needs him to do.

Speaking of Udoka, White has played under him in multiple instances, giving the veteran a familiarity with his new team, a luxury that not many trade deadline acquisitions have.

When White played for USA basketball in 2019, Udoka was a part of the coaching staff. In his first two years with the Spurs, White also was coached by Udoka.

It’s safe to say that not only will White be comfortable with the team quickly, but he will seamlessly fit into Udoka’s game plans.

Diving deeper into the numbers, White is currently averaging 14.4 points, 5.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds, one steal, and just shy of a block per game on 43/31/87 shooting splits.

While the shooting percentages don’t look great, it’s easy to forget that shooting overall is down across the NBA, likely due to changes in the ball and foul rules.

To put that into perspective, Jayson Tatum is only shooting 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep; James Harden is shooting 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep; Bradley Beal is only shooting 30 percent from deep; Steph Curry is shooting 42(!) percent from the field.

While some cases are definitely different than others, there are some really good shooters in the NBA whose efficiency has suffered drastically this season.

I’d be more inclined to look at White’s free throw percentage (a typical sign of a good shooter), recent shooting splits (adjusting to new ball/ foul rules), and the past few seasons (larger sample size) when deciding on how good of a shooter he really is.

Based on those factors, I’d say White is a solid shooter, probably better served as an off-ball shooter than shooting off the dribble, which is likely exactly what the C’s will ask him to do based on how the roster is currently constructed.

White is a career 84 percent free-throw shooter, a good overall percentage, and a career 34 percent 3-point shooter, which is solid given his down shooting year this season.

The most important thing to know, however, is that White is shooting 38 percent from deep over the last 15 games, and is shooting 39 percent from deep in his last 10 games.

While yes, those are small sample sizes, it does show that White is certainly capable of shooting better than his current season percentage of 31 percent.

Hopefully, White can carry that momentum from recent games to the rest of the season with the Celtics.

The final thing I’d like to point out with White is his playmaking.

While 5.6 assists don’t really jump out at you, Boston Celtics fans need to remember that he played with a different Spurs guard that many fans have wanted to trade for in Dejounte Murray, who is currently averaging 9.3 assists a game.

Yes, White as a secondary ball-handler on the Spurs would lead our team in assists (Marcus Smart is the current leader with 5.4 a game). It seems likely that White will be our new leading assist man, or at the very least look like the best passer on the team whenever he’s on the floor.

To further add to that, the veteran is also relatively careful with the ball.

A good measure to look at when analyzing playmaking/ball-handling ability is assist to turnover ratio.

Comparing White’s ratio this season to other Boston Celtics ball-handlers is an interesting case study.

Starting with per game stats:

Jayson Tatum: 4.1 AST, 2.9 TO, 1.41 Ratio
Jaylen Brown: 3.2 AST, 2.9 TO, 1.1 Ratio
Marcus Smart: 5.4 AST, 2.1 TO, 2.57 Ratio
Dennis Schroder: 4.2 AST, 2.1 TO, 2 Ratio
Josh Richardson: 1.5 AST, 0.9 TO, 1.67 Ratio
Payton Pritchard: 1.7 AST, 0.6 TO, 2.83 Ratio
Derrick White: 5.6 AST, 1.8 TO, 3.11 Ratio

Now looking at per 36 minute stats:

Jayson Tatum: 4.1 AST, 2.9 TO, 1.41 Ratio
Jaylen Brown: 3.4 AST, 3.1 TO, 1.1 Ratio
Marcus Smart: 5.9 AST, 2.3 TO, 2.57 Ratio
Dennis Schroder: 5.2 AST, 2.6 TO, 2 Ratio
Josh Richardson: 2.2 AST, 1.3 TO, 1.69 Ratio
Payton Pritchard: 4.9 AST, 1.9 TO, 2.58 Ratio
Derrick White: 6.6 AST, 2.1 TO, 3.14 Ratio

And finally per 100 possessions:

Jayson Tatum: 5.7 AST, 4.0 TO, 1.43 Ratio
Jaylen Brown: 4.6 AST, 4.3 TO, 1.07 Ratio
Marcus Smart: 8.1 AST, 3.1 TO, 2.61 Ratio
Dennis Schroder: 7.2 AST, 3.6 TO, 2 Ratio
Josh Richardson: 3.0 AST, 1.8 TO, 1.67 Ratio
Payton Pritchard: 6.8 AST, 2.6 TO, 2.62 Ratio
Derrick White: 8.9 AST, 2.8 TO, 3.18 Ratio

Based on those numbers, it is safe to say that the Celtics not only upgraded from the departed players of Dennis Schroder and Josh Richardson in terms of playmaking, but they added a player who should be the best playmaker on the team.

While many Boston Celtics fans may not know much about Derrick White right now, they will soon.

He’ll be the third scoring option, top playmaker, and second-best perimeter defender on the team behind Smart.

While the loss of Schroder and Richardson should hurt, they were essentially combined into one player in the form of Derrick White in terms of scoring, playmaking, and defense.

Add in the fact that he’s only 27 and under contract for the next three seasons at a reasonable price (average salary of $17.5 million) and you’ve got a player who not only should help the team this season but for the next several to come.

No matter if you think the Boston Celtics overpaid or not for Derrick White, he was a great acquisition who should be considered a core piece along with Tatum, Brown, Smart, and Rob Williams.