Derrick White was one of many Celtics who heard their names in trade rumors this offseason as Brad Stevens retooled the roster after Jayson Tatum’s Achilles tear. Second apron penalties led to trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis last month, but Boston elected to hold firm on White overtures, demanding a massive haul to even consider moving their prized guard.
White spoke with Chris Forsberg on the Celtics Talk Podcast about Boston’s offseason makeover this week.
“I think every summer is pretty crazy, especially nowadays,” White said when asked about his name surfacing in trade talks. “But I didn’t feel too worried about anything. My agent and Brad had been talking and all the other rumors and stuff, I wasn’t really too worried about. I mean, I feel like it’s cool to be wanted by other teams, but I wanted to stay in Boston, and I was glad they wanted to keep me.”
The Celtics publicly have come out and emphasized that they did not come close to moving either White or Jaylen Brown in the days before the NBA Draft despite frequent rumors swirling around both players.
“Those two guys are really, really great NBA players, and there hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading them,” Mike Zarren said last month. “I’m not sure where all this reporting came from but those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here.”
White is set to begin the first year of a four-year $118 million extension he signed with Boston last season and will be handed even more responsibility in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s injury and the departures of four rotation players due to trade or free agency.
“It’s always tough to see guys leave, especially people that you won a championship with and had so many great battles with,” White said. “Obviously, seeing KP and Jrue get traded, it was tough to see. And then Luke signs somewhere else. Having a different team and having those guys leave is kind of difficult, but it’s part of the business and I’m confident the guys that we have coming in and the guys that we still have returning. So it’s gonna be a lot of fun, and it’s gonna be a different challenge, but I think that’s just the great thing about basketball.”
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