Derrick White, most underrated player in the NBA?

[elchengue20]

Hes a great player, a luxury if hes your 5th option.

Hes not the prototype All Star and if hes your 2nd or 3rd option offensively you are not going to be a serious contender.

That doesnt mean hes not an awesome basketball player and very valuable on his role. Every contender would kill to have a player like him, they dont grow on trees. Hes like Bruce Brown on steroids.

[ShootersShoot]

Kings GM will be ready when that call comes.

The first time such could be considered is this summer. Brown for Barnes, Huerter and Murray makes some sense.

No Murray. Picks, other players. Kings have guys that fit Boston real well if they ever did decide to go this route.

HB and huerter are notoriously poor playoff performers. Its nonsensical to think they would make the celts better over brown.

[lebron stopper]

A lot of people are finding out how good Derrick White is now, but I don't think most people realize he was really good for the Spurs too. Not just really good, but in my opinion he was their most important player in those years after Kawhi got banished to Toronto.

I'll put a quick summary of what I observed from like 2018 to 2022, and others are free to chime in as well (especially Spurs fans, they know their team best):

2018-19 Spurs started that season as a really bad defensive team (like, absolutely atrocious, with no perimeter defense whatsoever), and were 14th in the West (11-14 record) by Dec. 5. White gets inserted into the starting lineup mid-December and he single-handedly shores up their perimeter defense. Spurs finish 48-34 at the end of the season. I think he is one of the biggest reasons why the 2018-19 Spurs squeezed another year into their already improbable, all-time playoff streak.

2019-20 saw White lose his starting spot and expanded role to Dejounte Murray, which coincided with the team losing more. But then they make it into the bubble, Pop decides to insert White into the starting lineup for Aldridge (out for that season), and they rattle off a 5-2 record in the bubble with him playing (both losses are by 2 and 6 points). Unfortunately, not enough for them to make the playoffs, as they had fallen so far behind in the standings before the bubble.

The next season, Spurs are a .500 win percentage team for most of the season, and White is in and out due to injuries. He misses the end of the season due to injuries, and the Spurs fall from 31-29 (9th) to 33-39 (10th) without him, before losing the first play-in game to the Grizzlies. Perhaps HCA combined with White's presence would help them win that night.

All that time with the Spurs, he's put up an overall +5 net rating, with all seasons positive. With the Celtics, it's currently at +9.7 overall in his entire time there so far. I thought the Celtics did well to acquire him two seasons ago, but I never imagined he would be this good for them.

[firedavidkahn]

I honestly don't think anyone underrates him anymore. Last year he kinda shed that label and his greatness was recognized.

Calling him an all-star this year though is crossing the line.

[Myth]

I agree that his impact goes beyond the stat sheet, but that is also kind of his reputation, so I think he is rated fine.

[Ball4life32]

Yeah he makes extremely high impact. Perfect fit for this Celtics team.

[doogie_hauser]

Being the best player for the Celtics so far in the playoffs.

Really sets the tone especially on the defensive end, his rapid improvement of shooting (esp from 3 point land) has been a delight to watch.

Got a very very strong IQ and is game clearly thrives in the playoffs.

Getting him as basically a git from Pop means I have finally gotten over my grudge at San Antonio for winning the 1997 Tim Duncan Lottery.

Don't think Boston have had such a gifted play making point guard since Dennis Johnson tbh

Only games he has missed for The Celtics is due to family/personal reasons (attending the birth of his children which is absolutely understandable) his durability, given how physically he plays, especially on the defensive end is really impressive.

He is going to have a big big say if we can bring home championship number 18.

[One_and_Done]

Hes a great player, a luxury if hes your 5th option.

Hes not the prototype All Star and if hes your 2nd or 3rd option offensively you are not going to be a serious contender.

That doesnt mean hes not an awesome basketball player and very valuable on his role. Every contender would kill to have a player like him, they dont grow on trees. Hes like Bruce Brown on steroids.

Basically this.

[One_and_Done]

Being the best player for the Celtics so far in the playoffs.

Really sets the tone especially on the defensive end, his rapid improvement of shooting (esp from 3 point land) has been a delight to watch.

Got a very very strong IQ and is game clearly thrives in the playoffs.

Getting him as basically a git from Pop means I have finally gotten over my grudge at San Antonio for winning the 1997 Tim Duncan Lottery.

Don't think Boston have had such a gifted play making point guard since Dennis Johnson tbh

Only games he has missed for The Celtics is due to family/personal reasons (attending the birth of his children which is absolutely understandable) his durability, given how physically he plays, especially on the defensive end is really impressive.

He is going to have a big big say if we can bring home championship number 18.

The Spurs needed to move their vets to rebuild, which let them get Wemby. I don't think they're complaining. They also got a 1st and a top 1 protected swap in 28. I'd say it worked out well for both teams. With the Celtics impending tax crunch the team might have been blown up to some degree by 2028. The Spurs were going nowhere with White, and moved him while he had value still. You think other teams were offering that much? Derrick White is 29 now. He was going to be past his prime by the time the Spurs are contenders.