The Boston Celtics played to their strengths with their trade deadline addition of Derrick White.
The veteran guard reportedly was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick protected 1-4, and the right to swap first-round picks in 2018. That's a hefty price to pay, but White's presence improves an already-elite Boston defense.
What C's fans should know about Derrick White after reported trade
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The 27-year-old can also provide some scoring and playmaking off the bench. Through 49 games this season in San Antonio, he averaged 14.4 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
Our Chris Forsberg shared his thoughts on the deal during NBC Sports Boston's Celtics Trade Deadline Special.
"Outside of the (James) Harden and (Ben) Simmons swap, I felt like Derrick White was one of the best players that was out there," Forsberg said. "The Celtics got the best player in all their dealings. Now, will it translate? He's gotta come in here and do it, and he's gonna find a new role probably because he's probably going to be coming off the bench. But his elite defense and the way he can take on the challenge -- like, you go back and rewind the tape, he was defending Jayson Tatum at the end of games, he's picked up (Devin) Booker. He is not afraid to take on those challenges, and so that will fit perfectly. He's going to earn Ime Udoka's confidence immediately out of the gate.
"The only thing I'm leery about with this deal is that they did have to give up a first-round pick to make it happen. Maybe that doesn't matter. Maybe the Celtics are just banking on, 'alright, we've got our core, we've got our pieces, we're just building around them, we still have salary to make deals.' But any time you have to give up a first-round pick I get a little bit uneasy. ... It's weird to say, but 2028 draft swap, we'll probably be driving around in flying cars by then, but it might still matter because we have no idea how good these teams are going to be at that point."
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That wasn't the C's only move of the day. Just before the 3 p.m. ET deadline, they sent Dennis Schroder, Enes Freedom, and Bruno Fernando to the Houston Rockets for old friend Daniel Theis. They end the day with five open roster spots.
Hear everything Forsberg had to say about the Derrick White trade in the video above.