With Jaylen Brown no longer on the roster, there's probably going to be a "next man up" mentality for the Boston Celtics next season (especially once Paul George misses 20 games in a row). It's easy to see guys like Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard taking that next step, but the same can't be said for Derrick White.
White has been crucial to Boston's success ever since the team acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs in 2022, but he's best as a super role player. He worked so well in Boston because he was never any better than the third option, and he was able to lock in and play to his strengths everywhere else
That was different last year, though, especially during Tatum's absence in the first several months of the season. White struggles offensively when he has to take on a bigger role, and now that he is one year older and is going to be in a bigger offensive role full-time, there are reasons to be a bit concerned about what his short-term future could look like.
Derrick White needs to find his shot again next season
The Celtics will need White to have a bounce-back season next year (at least offensively -- he still finished sixth in DPOY voting and earned All-Defensive First Team honors for the first time), but that may be easier said than done.
Last season, the Colorado native shot 39.4% from the field (career worst) and 32.7% from deep (second-worst of career -- 31.2 3FG% in 2021-22). And in the playoffs, he shot 32.1% and 27.3%, respectively.
White's never been a certified scorer; he's always been someone who can hit open shots and take advantage of defenses zeroing in on everybody else (Tatum, Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, maybe even Jrue Holiday). But he doesn't have that much security anymore. We already saw how bad it could get last year, and it's probably only going to get worse.
Obviously, White's value goes way beyond his scoring. He is one of the smartest players in the game, can be disruptive on defense, and is a very good playmaker (he doesn't put up Magic Johnson numbers, but he knows when and how to pass, and he can do it at a high level). But at this point, the Celtics are going to rely on him a lot more to put the ball in the basket, too.
Hopefully for them, the 32-year-old can turn things around next season. Because if they still have championship dreams, they will desperately need him to.
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