For the first time since his arrival in Boston, the trade machine came for Derrick White.
After a season of inefficiency, and a shaky playoff exit, the narrative shifted. Boston’s favorite adopted cousin no longer had the same unshakeable trust from all corners of the fanbase. But appreciating White has always required some nuance, and by looking deeper we can understand how important he is and the reason for optimism moving forward.
Judging White solely on raw shooting splits completely misses the mark (pun intended). He can fill up a stat sheet, but his true value has always been about fluidity and intangible impact.
He’s uniquely capable of flowing from the 1st through 5th option on any given night. For many players, that kind of variance isn’t a compliment. But there’s a significant difference between being inconsistent and being scalable, and White has a proven track record of seamlessly expanding or shrinking his role based on matchups or teammate availability.
Last season, that scalability was pushed to its absolute limit. In the absence of Tatum and key pieces from the championship roster, White had less room to lurk in the shadows. His spot in the offensive hierarchy was defined. Forced into the most visible and static role of his career, he shouldered a heavy, unfamiliar creation burden—logging eight games with a usage rate above 30%—and stumbled to a career-low 39.4% from the field and 32.7% from deep. Those efficiency struggles only grew under the postseason lights in the loss to the Sixers.
Yet, if you look beyond the box score, advanced metrics support that he was still deeply impactful. Take Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM), a useful tool for measuring a player’s impact on winning. Even with his lower percentages, White finished the season in the 94th percentile league-wide, a sign that he still influenced winning at an elite level.
There’s a reason why most metrics still love him. White refused to let his offensive workload compromise his defense. He averaged a career-high in steals and blocks, and Boston’s defense was 7.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor. In his minutes they were an elite two-way team. Without him they were a top offense without a defensive identity.
I said before last season that White taking on a larger role was good in the long run, and I still believe that. The experiment wasn’t perfect, but the team greatly overachieved in the regular season with him helping to lead the way. He got valuable reps as a top option, and proved he can easily anchor a bench unit when staggering lineups.
Moving forward, he’s not going to be quite as overextended. Tracking data from last season shows his creation frequency skyrocketed, jumping from 27% to 38% of his total playtypes. This caused a corresponding drop in his time spent spacing the floor, and put a heavy tax on his efficiency. After spending the previous year at an elite +10.5% in Relative True Shooting as an off-ball weapon, his efficiency plummeted to -3.5% below league average under the weight of self-created possessions and added defensive attention.
With Tatum in for a full season, White slides right back into a more natural complementary role. The two have unbelievable chemistry with a two-man game that creates all kinds of issues. One possession you’ll have Tatum screening for White, and then they’ll invert it the next time down the floor.
Playing alongside Tatum simplifies White’s reads as a ball handler. Meanwhile, when White acts as the screener, he can tap into more off-ball shooting and decision-making. Over their last five years together, White sharing the court with Tatum gets a massive +6.3% bump in True Shooting, with his three-point percentage increasing by +4.3%.
We haven’t seen it yet, but I picture Paul George offering a similar type of offensive synergy. Like Tatum, George is comfortable in either role of a ball-screen action. He can pick-and-pop and fire up a three, or he can handle playmaking and creation responsibilities. Last season, George had an equal 41-41% split between creation and spacing playtypes. His scoring versatility should make him another dangerous pick-and-roll partner for White.
The existence of Tatum and George will keep White’s offensive burden tied to the best parts of his game. White is one of the best advantage extenders in the NBA, and thrives when he can attack defenses that are a step behind. Playing off of two creators will allow him to swap a good chunk of self-creation duties for the premium catch-and-shoot and off-screen looks that have made him so lethal.
After a year of being higher in the opponent’s scouting report, when he does need to step up into a larger role, it’s something he’s even more prepared for.
With his optimal ecosystem restored, there’s a strong likelihood White’s jumper not only returns, but that he puts together one of his best offensive seasons as a Celtic.
It’s time to delete the trade machine screenshots and put our #9 jerseys back on.
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