On Tuesday, Derrick White appeared on ESPN’s “NBA Right now”, donning a newly-shaved head that made headlines earlier within the week as he expressed pleasure for the 12 months forward.
He shared with Malika Andrews that he was excited for his new function because the workforce’s place to begin guard (as confirmed by Joe Mazzula final month), and most notably, that he want to signal an extension earlier than the season begins, if the chance presents itself.
“I really like being right here in Boston. It might be cool to get an extension,” White mentioned. “We’ll see what occurs throughout that window, however I’ve liked my time in Boston thus far and my focus proper now could be simply on the season.”
White is presently getting into the third 12 months of a four-year, $73 million extension he signed with the Spurs in 2020. He can have the possibility to barter a three-year extension with the workforce throughout a short, three-week window in September. In different phrases, now that Jaylen Brown’s extension is within the rearview, we are able to flip our consideration to the subsequent potential contract saga.
It stays to be seen whether or not the Celtics will provide White the form of extension he’s in search of, and on the heels of Brown signing the richest contract in NBA historical past, the workforce’s long-term cap area is proscribed. However, the Celtics ought to expend all choices to increase White, as a result of if all goes in keeping with plan, his worth may very well be a complete lot greater in future years.
Why the Celtics ought to guess on Derrick White
The onerous nosed defender is coming off of a productive 2022-23 marketing campaign, the place he averaged 12.4 factors per sport on 46% taking pictures, together with a career-high 38.1% from three.
His numbers rose within the playoffs — he averaged 13.4 factors on 50.5% taking pictures, together with a team-best 45.5% from three. A stellar run was capped off by a historic Recreation 6 putback buzzer-beater that prolonged the Celtics season, which made White solely the second participant in NBA historical past to stave off elimination with a sport winner (Michael Jordan was the primary).
And as a lot as he impressed offensively, protection remained White’s calling card all year long — he led all guards in blocks, with 76 on the season, and was named to the All-Defensive Second Crew.
In Good’s absence, White is predicted to play an even bigger offensive function, and whereas pundits have spent the summer season debating whether or not he’ll thrive in that place, he doesn’t seem fazed by the problem.
“I’m wanting ahead to it,” White mentioned. “I’ll undoubtedly have the ball in my arms, extra of a playmaker function, and I’m wanting ahead to develop with the workforce and simply get us in the best place every time.”
White began 70 video games final season (out of 82 performed), however averaged solely 28.3 minutes per sport and infrequently discovered himself on the bench down the stretch in shut video games, with Joe Mazzulla sometimes deferring to Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Good within the again court docket. However within the 21 common season video games that Good missed final season, White averaged 15.4 factors per sport — the identical variety of factors he averaged in his 2021 Spurs marketing campaign.
“I don’t suppose it is going to be a giant adjustment,” White mentioned. “I’m simply going to have the ball in my arms extra, which I’ve performed just about most of my profession, so simply getting again to that and simply getting the fellows in the best spot.”
The star trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis ought to make his job a complete lot simpler. “The issues he [Porzingis] can do on the court docket are particular,” White mentioned on Tuesday. “He had a sport in opposition to us final season the place he was unreal. So as to add a man like that to our workforce, we’re all wanting ahead to it. It’s going so as to add a distinct dimension to our workforce.”
What an extension might imply for the franchise
If the Celtics and White can conform to an extension, they successfully make sure the Tatum-Brown-Porzingis-White core is locked down for the foreseeable future.
The Celtics have now secured Jaylen Brown via the 2027-28 season (with a 5-year, $304 million supermax extension final week), and Kristaps Porzingis via the 2025-26 season (with a two-year, $60 million extension signed earlier final month).
Tatum, who’s already made All-NBA for 2 consecutive seasons, shall be eligible to signal his personal supermax subsequent offseason. Having simply accomplished the second 12 months of his present five-year extension, Tatum can have the choice of signing via the 2029-30 season. Tatum’s extension will doubtless be even richer than Brown’s, provided that the NBA shall be negotiating a brand new media rights offers which is predicted to extend the cap.
Horford, Brogdon and White are all presently set to turn into free brokers within the 2025 offseason. Horford shall be 39 by that point, and may very well be eyeing retirement after signing a team-friendly, two-year extension in December. Brogdon’s future in Boston is unclear, particularly contemplating he was initially – and really publicly – the primary commerce piece within the preliminary Porzingis deal, earlier than the Clippers pulled out and Marcus Good acquired shipped to Memphis.
So, all indicators level to the Celtics viewing Derrick White as a vital a part of the longer term. And excellent news for followers – it seems like White acknowledges that the one success for this core is a championship.
“Boston’s a title city. That’s what they count on from us, that’s what they need from us every 12 months,” White mentioned. “Clearly we’ve been proper there the final couple years and it’s simply little issues every 12 months that we gotta do a greater job of within the playoffs and it begins from Day 1. We simply gotta proceed to place collectively good days and I like our possibilities subsequent 12 months.”
