Derrick White never planned for this.
Drafted at the end of the first round by San Antonio, he had begun building a role for himself as a Spur. Both he and Dejounte Murray thought they’d be the backcourt to bring San Antonio back to the championship level the Spurs were known for.
That's what they were working towards when they reported to camp in 2021. Exactly a year ago, they started alongside each other in a loss to the Clippers. No one could have guessed that, a week before Thanksgiving in 2022, they’d be playing against each other on ESPN as members of the Celtics and Hawks.
“I got a lotta love for him,” White said of Murray. “We competed against each other in practices back in San Antonio. So I just know he's an ultimate competitor, and I wanted to compete right back at him. So, first time playing against him, but it was a lot of fun.”
It probably wasn’t as much fun for Murray, who watched White play somewhat perfectly for the Celtics, who came in missing Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart. On a night where there was some question about who would lead the Celtics' offense, the answer was pretty definitively Derrick White.
When the season started, people used words like “redundant” when discussing White. If Smart and Brogdon are 1-2 in the pecking order, then White certainly was expendable (another frequently-used word).
But Boston paid a not-insignificant price to get White to Boston. They were excited when he arrived, and there wasn’t a peep from anyone in the organization about moving off him after the Brogdon signing.
That's because they understand the value of depth and versatility. If you want the quintessential Derrick White play, look no further than this one in the second quarter.
On this play, White was…
A pick-setter
A shooting threat
A penetrator who drew attention with a paint touch
A distributor who found a shooter in his sweet spot
White’s value to Boston is that he does a little bit of everything, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that White can do a whole lotta one or two things if needed.
Joe Mazzulla talks a lot about the humility of his team, and how necessary it is for everyone to put their personal goals aside for the greater good; when players are truly selfless and concerned about the common goal, that is when they can play free and accomplish something that benefits everyone.
White embodies that. When the Celtics need him to be a floor-spacer, he drills 3-pointers at an incredible rate. When they need him to make up for lost distribution, he drops 10 assists on the Hawks.
When the Celtics were making their run in the third quarter, there was talk about how Jayson Tatum and four dudes were crushing the Hawks. But those dudes are capable of quite a lot, White chief among them.
The talk so far this season has rightfully been about Tatum’s MVP run, Malcolm Brogdon’s command of the second unit, Jaylen Brown’s pursuit of an All-NBA spot, and Smart’s evolution as a distributor.
None of those elements were fully available in Atlanta. But White was.
This is the value of depth. This is why the Celtics gave up a pick swap in a few years that people latched onto as they moaned about a trade that cost them Josh Richardson.
No offense to Richardson, but the moaning seems to have been a little much in retrospect.
White is generally unassuming. He ums and uhs his way through postgame interviews in a way that suggests that he wonders why anyone even cares to talk to him. He relies on standard answers to get through interviews he’s not comfortable doing. Honestly, the only places I’ve ever seen him truly comfortable is in the locker room and on the court.
White will do what’s asked of him and enjoy the ride. In Atlanta, he was asked to lead an unusual mix of guys past a team that had put the league on notice with two big wins over the Milwaukee Bucks. He did so with poise and precision, demonstrating his ability to step into roles vacated by others who were temporarily unavailable, and to lead a group one might not expect to be capable of blowing out a team that has blown out some of the league’s best teams.
“We got some guys that stay ready,” Brown said. “We got a style of ball that we’re trying to play. And every guy is ready when their name is called. You can’t ask for more.”