Derrick White Makes Thoughts Extremely Clear On Recently Traded Teammate

The Boston Celtics have been busy this offseason; the problem is that they have made moves that haven’t exactly excited fans. While a slew of players have been traded, one guy who appears set to stay put for the long-term future is guard Derrick White.

Ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, White saw his name pop up in trade rumors, but Boston’s front office was not wowed by any of the offers that came their way. The same was not true for Jrue Holiday or Kristaps Porzingis, as both players got shipped out of town due to salary cap issues.

In a perfect world, the Celtics would have been able to keep Holiday and Porzingis around. With Boston looking to retool their roster in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s crushing Achilles injury, though, the team was forced to deal a pair of its starters in order to get under the second apron of the league’s new salary cap.

White became close to Holiday in particular during their two shared seasons with the C’s, as they manned the backcourt for Boston during their 2024 championship team. And while they are no longer on the same team, that doesn’t change how White feels about Holiday.

“Jrue could have easily said give me the ball but he wasn’t like that,” White said on his new podcast “White Noise.” “Unbelievable teammate, unbelievable family. You can’t really replace him”

Holiday’s numbers last season weren’t exactly gaudy (11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game), but he was a crucial piece of the Celtics’ operation. He remains one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he always seemed to make the right decision when the ball found its way to him.

When push came to shove, though, Holiday’s deal simply became too expensive for a Boston team looking to avoid the penalties that come with the NBA’s new salary cap. That leaves White leading the way in the backcourt, with Anfernee Simons and Payton Pritchard also factoring into the mix.

It’s a shame the C’s couldn’t hold onto Holiday, but his legacy with the team is still set in stone after he helped the team win the 2024 NBA Finals. Now, White will be looking to help the Celtics reemerge as a championship contender down the line.