One of the NBA’s most underrated players and a core piece to the Boston Celtics’ championship run will be sticking around for a while, and is going to be well compensated at that.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celitcs and guard Derrick White have agreed to a massive extension worth almost $126 million. White becomes the latest member of the NBA champion Celtics to agree to terms with the team, following the new deals for Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta, as well as picking up Sam Hauser’s option for the 2024-25 season as well.
White, who has been a multi-faceted workhorse for the Celtics since being acquired from the San Antonio Spurs, now gets paid like a star player. Brad Stevens made re-signing White a priority and delivered, his stellar run as President of Basketball Operations for Boston continues.
White was beyond instrumental in helping the team secure Banner 18 this season, at times leading the team in scoring, not to mention clutch shots like the one to ice the Eastern Conference Finals in Indiana, and of course his signature defense.
White has become a hugely popular player with the fans, the sight of him smiling at the end of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, one of his front teeth chipped, has become an iconic image of a team that finally delivered on its potential. With Mr. Everything secured for another four seasons, a foundational reason why the Celtics are so competitive and multi-dimensional is in place.
The news does come at an odd time, however, as shortly after the White extension was announced, Woj tweeted that Celtics majority owner and governor Wyc Grousbeck plans to sell the team. The extension for White obviously had no impact on this major announcement, but the former certainly does overshadow the White news.
Whoever buys the Celtics going forward will certainly have talent in place to contend for multiple championships, led in part by the versatility of the well paid White.