There’s plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Boston Celtics’ roster heading into the summer. Boston’s disappointing playoff exit, driven by underwhelming performances from the team’s role players, feels, to some degree, like it could be the final straw for the Celtics’ current core.
Take Derrick White for example. The All-Defensive guard struggled to put the ball in the basket this season, sinking just 39.4% of his attempts from the field and only 32.7% of those beyond the arc. Those splits dropped to 32.1%/27.3% in the playoffs.
If the front office feels like said shooting woes are a long-term concern, then they may want to move him before it’s too late.
With that being said, it doesn’t sound like they were seriously considering anything that drastic back in February.
Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor shared that the Celtics quickly shut down the Cleveland Cavaliers’ trade deadline interested in adding White.
“If it wasn’t [James] Harden, it might’ve been someone else,” Fedor wrote Monday. “The Cavs wondered about Boston’s appetite for moving Derrick White — a non-starter given Jayson Tatum’s speedy recovery from a ruptured Achilles.”
The Celtics' unwillingness to negotiate a possible Derrick White trade tells us that trading him isn't a priority.
Now, it’s impossible to be certain, but this intel likely suggests that trading White isn’t on the team’s agenda this offseason. Could they have had a change of heart while watching 40 of his 55 three-point attempts bounce off the rim against the Philadelphia 76ers? Sure.
But, with how calculated the Celtics have been under Brad Stevens, it’s tough to imagine that they’d be so drastically swayed in such a short period of time -- especially with how unwilling they seemed to be to even negotiate with Cleveland.
The Cavs, as a destination, also can’t be ignored. They wound up landing Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick. Their initial offer (if the conversation even got that far) to Boston was likely something similar, given the financials.
Garland makes about $10 million more than White does. The Celtics almost certainly would’ve had to attach Sam Hauser’s contract to make the money work. So, a deal, had it materialized, likely would’ve been Garland and draft capital for White and Hauser.
The two-time All-Star also missed significant time in two of the last three seasons. Even when he managed to suit up in 75 games last season, he still struggled to stay on the court in the playoffs.
Not the most intriguing offer -- certainly not enough to get the Cs to part with a player like White, who’s been so important to them since arriving in February of 2022, and has been far more available than Garland.
Now, if another team were to inquire with an offer with more upside, maybe Boston would be forced to listen. For now, it seems like D-White is safe, though.
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