The Boston Celtics made their stance on Derrick White pretty clear this summer: he was not up for grabs.
Teams around the league checked in on White, but a Western Conference executive told Heavy Sports' Sean Deveney that Boston shut the door fast.
“They got calls, you had to call to see if there was something there that could be done with one of their guys. You just did not know if it was going to be a whole fire sale thing, but they let it be known pretty quickly it wasn’t. The guy you’re going to go for, that everyone had their eye on was Derrick White because of the contract and the down year and maybe you can lowball a bit.
“But the Celtics were not entertaining anything like that. It’s not just hanging up the phone, everyone listens.
But it is just not where they were at. He is a very popular guy on that team and in that front office, they were not going to move him.”
That tracks with the way Boston has valued White since he arrived. Even after a rough shooting season, the Celtics still see plenty of reasons to keep him around, and the analytics haven’t exactly told a different story.
White’s appeal clearly goes beyond box score numbers. He’s viewed as a strong presence in the locker room, and that kind of influence matters. A player who helps set the tone and fit the culture can buy himself a lot of goodwill, even when his production dips.
Boston’s interest in Mike Conley Jr. is a reminder of how much teams still care about that kind of presence. Conley is far from the player he once was, but the Celtics brought him in not long after free agency opened.
Still, this is Brad Stevens’ team, and Stevens has never sounded like someone who believes any player is permanently untouchable. He’s shown he’ll move anyone if he thinks it helps Boston long term.
That’s what made the Jaylen Brown decision so striking. Few expected Brown to be dealt, and even fewer expected the return Boston got. But Stevens’ history says he’s always looking ahead, not locking himself into what’s comfortable.
White is in a different spot than Brown was, especially because he won’t be paid at the same level. And right now, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for Boston to even consider moving him.
But this summer also served as a reminder that the Celtics will listen when the right long-term move comes along. White may be valued highly now, but in Boston, nothing is ever completely off the table.
In Other News...
Celtics Have A Real Defensive Trade Debate Tied To The Clippers
The Celtics have spent enough time this season searching for ways to tighten up the back end that a name like Kris Dunn naturally lands in the conversation. Boston already knows what it is getting on defense if it looks toward the Clippers guard, and the appeal goes beyond stops and deflections. Dunn has also shown enough offensive growth to make him more than a one-dimensional specialist, which matters for a Celtics team trying to preserve spacing while adding toughness.
The fit is part of what makes the idea worth serious debate. Dunns contract could work into Bostons trade exception, and the price tag in the proposal is built around three future second-round picks, a relatively modest outlay for a player who could help in the short term. For the Clippers, the return is draft flexibility and a chance to move the money attached to Dunn, while Boston would have to decide how much it values another defensive guard against the cost of using assets on a deal that is still more concept than certainty. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Frontcourt Trade Talk Comes Down To One Huge Question
If Boston does end up exploring trades in the coming months, the frontcourt conversation could quickly center on Domantas Sabonis. His offensive touch and passing make him a natural fit for a Celtics group that has long valued skill, spacing and decision-making from its big men, and his style would seem to blend neatly with how Boston likes to play.
The bigger question is what Sacramento would actually want back, because a deal for Sabonis would likely force Boston to part with a significant player, with Paul George mentioned as a possible piece. Whether the Kings would even entertain that framework is another matter, and it is the kind of trade-talk hurdle that can keep a promising idea from ever getting off the ground. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Fans Got Pulled Into A Trey Murphy Question Again
Boston fans got dragged back into the Trey Murphy conversation again after a bogus trade rumor lit up social media, this one claiming the Celtics and Pelicans were deep into talks that would have sent Murphy, Dejounte Murray, Paul George and draft picks into the mix. It was the kind of speculative package that spreads fast because it sounds like the sort of star-chasing NBA rumor people are always ready to believe, even if there is no real movement behind it.
There is at least a real thread underneath the noise, though, because Boston has been linked to monitoring Murphys market. That alone is enough to keep the idea alive every time a new rumor starts bouncing around, but nothing is close and nothing has been confirmed, which leaves the Celtics in the familiar spot of being connected to a player without any actual deal taking shape. [Read more 🡒]