Celtics Must Ignore Derrick White Trade Offers to Remain in Title Race amid NBA Rumors
The Boston Celtics' annual goal of competing for an NBA championship was put on hold when Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the conference semifinals.
That was just a temporary change, though. While cutting costs and increasing flexibility became new priorities, the real objective was to find this wiggle room without making the kinds of sacrifices that would keep the Celtics out of the title chase even upon Tatum's return.
And that should still be possible, despite Boston having already traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis. Those were key contributors, sure, but they didn't hold the same centerpiece statuses of Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Or Derrick White, for that matter, whom Boston sounds wisely uninterested in giving up. While the Celtics reportedly have discussed deals surrounding the all-purpose guard, they reportedly told a rival team it would take a "Mikal Bridges-type" offer to pry White loose, per The Stein Line's Jake Fischer.
For anyone who may have forgotten, last summer the New York Knicks coughed up five first-round picks and a first-round pick swap as part of the package used to get Bridges away from the Brooklyn Nets. To use that as the going rate for White was essentially Boston telling teams it would take a colossal overpay to get anything done.
For as robust as White's trade market may have been—he's a two-way asset who can fit alongside stars of any play styles—the Celtics were never going to be presented with that kind of haul. The Toronto Raptors, for instance, reportedly tried to assemble a White trade offer around this year's No. 9 pick and were quickly laughed out of the room.
Boston was wise to set the asking price impossibly high. White may not quite reach the star-level threshold needed to wear the untouchable label, but he is far too important to the club's championship chances to give him up.
The Celtics likely felt they needed to do their due diligence on White, but only to the degree of seeing whether someone might give up an irresponsible amount to get him. Those conversations seemingly never got off the ground, so Boston is ready to put even the idea of dealing White (or Brown, for that matter) behind it.
"Those two guys are really, really great NBA players, and there hasn't been anything close to serious about trading them," Celtics vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren told reporters after the draft. "... Those guys are key parts of our team and we're lucky to have them here."
Trading White—let alone Brown—would've gone beyond getting under the second apron or perhaps even ducking below the luxury tax line.
Depending on the return, it almost certainly would've dimmed the Celtics' hopes of rejoining the championship hunt even with a healthy Tatum back at the helm. As much as the combined star power of Tatum and Brown fueled Boston's 2024 title run, it was the club's depth and quality of its key support players that gave its ascension an inevitable feel.
Some of that depth had to take a hit this summer to balance the financial books, but again, sacrificing White would've been a step too far.
The idea is that the Celtics can reset what had been an untenable financial situation and use the 2025-26 campaign as a gap year that doesn't spoil any future seasons.
Now that they know that isn't happening, they can put this idea to rest and explore other avenues that would increase their flexibility and decrease their payroll without spoiling any future championship plans. That was the impetus behind Boston's moves to this point.
It just can't be the driving force behind a White deal. Even if someone wanted to overpay for him, the Celtics must silence those trade talks. It's their best bet for ensuring that whenever Tatum makes it back, he'll still be returning to a title team.
